


Bleach Blonde

by Dakkuuan



Category: Bleach, Heroine (The Chronicles of Autumn)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-05-30 11:13:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6421702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dakkuuan/pseuds/Dakkuuan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story that takes place right before Grimjow's attack on Karakura Town.  It brings three characters from the book Heroine (which is the first (and currently only) book in the Chronicles of Autumn series) to Karakura Town to help take on a new threat that is pulling Aizen's strings. The world these three characters from Heroine are from is just like our own, meaning Bleach is an anime and manga one of the characters is very familiar with.   Even with these new characters, it is very much a Bleach story, in Bleach's world, with a few totally new characters added in to mix things up.<br/>Reading Heroine is helpful, but not required.  Heroine can be found on Amazon Kindle for the curious http://www.amazon.com/Heroine-James-ORell-ebook/dp/B00BNUX4HC   There is an FAQ at the end of the file that answers many questions if one doesn't want to read Heroine, but still wants to enjoy the story.  But, reading this will likely give away Heroine's ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Wind, Frozen In Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kisuke receives an unusual visitor to his shop. Ichigo and Rukia meet their new neighbors and classmates, one of which Rukia finds utterly alarming.

 

Kisuke Urahara swept the stoop of his shop as a gentle wind caressed the leaves during an early autumn morning.  He chewed on a piece of straw as he pushed the straw broom and he whistled while he worked.  Without any sort of warning, the leaves stopped moving in the trees, frozen in place.

“So, what does the most lovely of our omnipotent creators require of this humble shopkeep?” Kisuke said into the wind.

“Hello, Kisuke,” a woman in green materialized in front of him.  “You are ever the charmer.”

“I do my best.  It’s been a long time, Goddess,” Kisuke smiled.  “What can I do for you?  We never seem to meet under pleasant circumstances.”

“Unfortunately, one such as I cannot just stop by to visit, but I digress.  Circumstances have changed for the worse, I’m afraid.  I’ve placed a few of my agents to assist you in the coming war.  It’s no longer just Aizen that’s moving against you.”

“I thought I sensed something of the sort.  You brought one of _them_ here.  That can’t be a good sign.”

“No, it’s not.  As for what I will need of you, one of her companions will need a set of weapons she can use against your enemies, the sooner, the better.”

“Right away.  So I assume your wayward child is finally making her move?”

“Yes and the Soul Society will be her target, as I’m sure you are aware.  Only you, my agents and your allies stand in her way.”

 

Autumn’s alarm blared a loud Japanese pop song and for some reason she couldn’t force herself to move right away.  Her bed was far softer than she had been used to and it was even softer than the one on the boat she was last on.

“I didn’t think I had an alarm on the boat…” she muttered.  Her eyes popped open.  “I didn’t have an alarm on the boat!  Where the hell am I?” She nervously glanced about the room she had awoken in.  She saw her guitar leaning against a corner and her old practice weapons decorating the walls, but little else was recognizable.  Her bed was obviously brand new and so was the rest of the furniture.  

“Autumn, honey, are you awake?” Her mother’s voice rang from outside the room.

“Yeah, Mom,” Autumn said as she turned off the digital alarm clock.

“Okay, don’t be late for your first day at your new school!”

“New school?” Autumn muttered to herself.  She stood up and opened the window that was alongside her bed.  She glanced around and realized very quickly, she wasn’t in Miami anymore.  

Autumn saw houses and streets that looked very familiar, but she wasn’t sure where she had seen them before.   The street signs weren’t in English, they were in Japanese.  Once this observation was made, she realized she was in suburban Japan.   

“Alexandral, what is going on?” Autumn said mentally.  

Her mind was silent.  

“And don’t think about going to school in jeans, you have to wear your uniform!” Autumn’s mother echoed once again.

“Oh, no, not a uniform!” Autumn cried as she opened her dresser drawer and found it full of skirts, all far shorter than anything she had ever worn before.

Autumn pulled out a short sleeve dress shirt, noticed how thin it was and sighed.

After showering and dressing, Autumn rushed downstairs and stopped in front of a full body mirror.  She frowned when she the image of herself in a tight gray sweater-vest, white dress shirt complete with red tie and a shorter-than-she-wanted-it pleated gray skirt. She sighed and said, “Dear God, I look like Orihime.”

“Who?” her mother appeared behind her.

“Orihime, from _Bleach_.  I’m surprised you forgot, Mom.  I know you haven’t watched a lot of television lately, but you and I watched some of that together.”

“Oh, I guess I’ve just been preoccupied with the move,” she smiled.  

Autumn raised an eyebrow, “Are you… okay… you don’t seem like yourself.”

“Oh, yes, I’m fine.  Now hurry and eat your breakfast before you are late.”

Autumn took a few bites of toast and a few bites of bacon.  She moved toward the door and saw a near-empty bookbag waiting for her.

“Carol asked that you try to keep Carry out of any fights,” Autumn’s mother said.

“Carry?” Autumn replied.

“Yes, Carry and Cristy are probably waiting on your slow butt, now go!”

Autumn said nothing else and stepped out of the door onto the sidewalk.  Across the street, she saw Carry and Cristy, coming out of similar homes, doing the same.

The three young ladies met on the sidewalk.  Carry was in a similar uniform without the sweater vest, shirt half buttoned and untucked. Her pale skin was almost as pale as her shirt.  Cristy’s outfit also lacked the sweater vest but hers was button but it was rolled up above her stomach. She ran her hands through blonde hair much like Autumn's but not as long.  

“Anyone else’s mom acting weird today?” Autumn asked.  “Mine didn’t say a word when I walked out the door barely eating anything.”

“Yeah, mine has…” Carry said as she touched up her black lipstick.

“Mine too,” Cristy added.  “And now that you mention it, but did I start drinking or something?  Because I don’t remember moving here.”

“Neither do I,” Autumn and Carry answered simultaneously.

“Okay, cool.  So at least we have our heads on straight,” Cristy sighed with relief.

“So what the fuck?” Carry tossed out as she pushed raven hair away from hazel eyes.

“I don’t know….” Autumn trailed off.  Her crystalline blue eyes caught a couple of students down the street.

“Don’t kick me, damn it!” a tall young man with orange hair yelled.

“Well, I wouldn’t if you weren’t making us late!  You are so slow!” a very short girl with jet black hair argued.

“And you worry too much, why do you care if we’re…” the orange haired boy replied, trailing off when he saw Autumn and now Cristy and Carry staring at them.

“Oh, hi!” the dark haired girl put on a goofy, wide grin and waved exaggeratedly.  

“You guys must be the from the new families that just moved in, sorry, we didn’t get a chance to come say ‘hi’,” the guy said as they approached..

“I’m Rukia Kuchiki and this is my friend, Ichigo Kurosaki,” the girl said as they stopped in front of the trio.

“Hi, I’m Cristy the curvaceous shorty, the goth babe here is Carry and that Amazon over there is Autumn,” Cristy let out a flirtatious grin.  “So...how are you guys doin’?   

“Ah…” Ichigo stuttered.  “We’re fine, just heading to class.  I assume you guys go to Karakura High too, right?”

“Yeah,” Carry nodded.

“Well, we better get going!  See you there!” Rukia grabbed Ichigo by the wrist and carted him off.

“See you later,” Ichigo said as he was being drug away.

“Ah, Japan, land of the cute short girls.  I might like it here.  I just hope what they say about the men isn’t true,” Cristy said as Ichigo and Rukia disappeared around the corner.  She glanced over to Carry and Autumn.  Carry was staring at Autumn, who was a paler than normal, with a stunned look cemented on her countenance.   

 

“What’s the deal dragging me away like that!  We’re not that late!  It was rude!” Ichigo complained as soon as he was sure they were out of earshot.

“Didn’t you notice that girl?”

“What, you mean the short one with the goofy expressions?” he replied.

“No, not her.  By the way, she was flirting with you, you idiot.  I think she was flirting with me too… but that’s beyond the point!  I’m talking about the really tall one.”

  
“You mean the one that’s like Rangiku… but you know, taller and less…”

Rukia bashed Ichigo in the back of the head, “It’s not polite to talk about a lady’s proportions like that, you moron!”

  
“Ow!  Alright!  What about her?”

Rukia sighed as they continued down the street, “You are as dense as usual.  You didn’t notice her energy?  It’s subdued, but there is energy coming from her is unlike anything I’ve ever encountered.  You go on ahead to school.  I need to stop by Orihime’s and speak with Captain Hitsugaya.  

 

Autumn’s stunned expression lingered as Carry and Cristy tried to get her attention.

“Are you okay?” Carry waved her hand in front of Autumn’s face.

“Those two… they are straight out of a manga…” Autumn stuttered.

“Whoa! Autumn,” Cristy exclaimed.  “I know they are Japanese and all, but not all Japanese people look like anime characters.”

“Actually, she is quite right… somewhat,” a gentle female, unseen voice said.  The world froze still.  Birds in the sky stopped moving, hanging in mid-air.  Autumn’s mother, Cassandra, could be seen in the window straightening the drapes, she too still, in the process of action.  Only Autumn, Cristy and Carry continued to be unfrozen in a world of the still.  

“What the hell?” Cristy exclaimed.

“The Mother,” Carry muttered.

“In the flesh,” she smiled.  “If such an expression is accurate for someone such as myself.” a woman appeared in the middle of the road.  She wore a light green dress and long sandy blonde hair that blew in wind that wasn’t blowing.  Around her arms and torso green leafy vines grew, which worked their way around the top of her hair like a crown and then down through her hair.  She approached the trio.

“What are we doing here?” Autumn gasped.  “Is this place even real?”

“Yes, my dear, very real.  I know where you come from it is a popular ‘fictional story’, but the inspiration for the story is based on a very real place, with real people.  Let’s say a fae inspired Mr. Kubo who wrote the story in your world about events that should happen here.  These sort of things happen all the time.”

“Should?” Carry asked.

“Yes, should.  What happens in this world should follow Tito Kubo’s story, for the most part, at least.  But, there is an outside influence that will very much alter the chain of events here.  That outside influence is what you are here to fight.”

“I see, so does that mean we shouldn’t influence things” Cristy said.  “I don’t know…like... collect any virginities… while I’m here?”

“Cristy!” Autumn exclaimed.

“You may do as you please,” the Mother chuckled.  “Things have already been changed for the worst, I’m afraid, even before you arrived.”

“And our parents?” Carry said.  “They are acting sort of odd.”

“They aren’t real.  Flesh and blood, yes, but the real ones, no.  They are placeholders to give you an appearance of normalcy.  So, they know little about what’s going on and some of the things you expect they should remember, they won’t.  Don’t make much mind of them.”

“So, you want us to deal with this outside influence?” Autumn asked.

“Yes, it is now pulling the strings of the villain of this ‘story’, Sōsuke Aizen, so fighting him will be a priority as well.  This is where the ‘plot’ will begin to diverge from what you are familiar with, Autumn.  The fact that Rukia and Ichigo saw you just a few moments ago has caused that, let alone things that have already happened.  Rukia is on her way to report what she saw to one of her superiors.”

“Autumn, that’s not nice, you scared the shit out of the poor girl,” Cristy grinned.  “I guess that’s why she grabbed Ichigo and high-tailed it out of here.”

“If the real thing is anything like the Rukia I know, it’s not fear but caution,” Autumn said.  “She tends to not show enough fear sometimes.  Oh… I also couldn’t get ahold of Alexandral… is something wrong?  It’s like she’s not even there.”

“Yes, I’ve temporarily isolated you from Alexandral, for the time being.  The Balanced Ones are best left out of this situation.  This world has very different rules than the one you are from.  It has a far thinner veil, the spiritual world and the physical are less separated, so she would have too much influence over you here. It’s a reason I don’t send your kind here very often.  Yet, this also works to your advantage.  You will find your incredible, natural spiritual energy will be much easier to access here. That goes the same for you too, Carry and Cristy.  Due to your abilities, your spiritual powers are far greater than the average mortal and you should be able to do things here you couldn’t at hom.”   

“That’s good.  I’ve seen a few episodes of this ‘story’ and I think things are going to get rough.  Speaking of which, what are going to do about weapons?” Carry asked.  “I noticed my sword wasn’t here.”

“Oh, yes, Karithian isn’t going to be up to the task, I’m afraid.  You’ll be using the Dharg’Synth, I believe you saw it on your way out of the house.”

“My mother’s scythe...okay…” Carry trailed off.

“What about me?” Autumn asked.

“You’ll see your weapons in your room when you return from school.  I didn’t want you getting distracted by them before you left for school.”

“And I’ve always got plenty of guns,” Cristy added.

“You’ll need special armaments, but until then, the dagger you carry that Hephaestus forged will work.”

“Awesome, if I’m understanding you correctly, that means more guns, and I’m always down with that.”

“And there is one more important matter that must be put out in the open before I let you ladies go about your day.  Carry, it’s time you told Autumn,” the Mother looked to Carry.

“What…?” Carry’s mouth dropped.

“About your duty, dear.”

“Oh.. yeah...that.  Autumn,” Carry struggled to look Autumn directly in the eyes.  “Look… I haven’t been completely honest with you.  The reason I came to Miami, the entire reason I’m in our world… is because I’m not just any Tala’har, I am your Tala’har…that means I’m your guardian.”

Autumn’s mouth open halfway.  Before she could say anything, the Mother put her hand gently on her shoulder and took her chin, “Autumn, before you even think of getting angry with Carry’s deception, understand this.  She is _your_ Tala’har.  Not Alexandral’s, but yours.  It is not because of Alexandral that she came to you.  It is not because she is your guardian that she is your friend.  Carry’s feelings towards you, the way she treats you, the fact that she stood up for you that day in school, have nothing to do with her duty to you.  She is, indeed, the friend you’ve always needed.  That is no lie. It was only under my instruction that Carol told her to keep it from you.  She had no idea that you knew anything about who you are or your destiny.  If you have anger toward anyone, let it be me. Do you understand, me?”

“Yes…” Autumn said.

“Even if you were not a Balanced One, Autumn, it wouldn’t have changed a thing.  I’d still fight for you, you’d still be my friend, one of my two very best friends,” Carry reassured.

“I was about to get angry…” Autumn muttered, tears streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Carry placed her arms around Autumn and pulled her close.  “I know you hate Alexandral and I can’t stand her either.”

“Hug time!” Cristy attempted to put her short arms around her two friends.

As the three friends pulled out of their extended embrace, the world was back to it’s normal state and the Mother was gone.

 

“Oh, hi Rukia!” Orihime said as she closed the door to her small dwelling.  “What are you doing here  Are you okay?  You look like you’ve seen a ghost.  Ghosts always scare me too!”

“I’m fine, Orihime, and I’m not afraid.  I’m here to speak to Captain Hitsugaya, is he in?” Rukia replied as she approached.

“Yes, but he’s speaking with the Head Captain now, so you might want to wait.”

“Actually, that might be even better, I’ll see you at school, Orihime,” Rukia replied.

“Okay!” Orihime opened the door to her house, let Rukia inside and scurried off to school.

“Head Captain, Captain, Lieutenant!” Rukia said when she entered the living room of Orihime’s house, which contained an organic appearing screen with the Head Captain’s image on it.  “I’m sorry to interupt, but this could be very important,” she said as she bowed.   

Rangiku and Tōshirō turned to Rukia.  The Head Captain on the screen also took notice of her.

“What is it, Rukia?  I know you’d only barge in like this if it was important,” Tōshirō said.

“Yes,” Head Captain Yamamoto said.  “Don’t hesitate.  Has the enemy made a move?”

“No, sir, but I saw something I can’t quite explain,” Rukia said as she stood up straight.  “It was a human. She was one of Ichigo’s new neighbors.  It was her energy… it was huge… it was being held back, but it could eclipse yours, Head Captain... by magnitudes…”

“It couldn’t be that strong…” Tōshirō reasoned.

“I’m certain, sir,” Rukia nodded.

“I’m afraid Miss Kuchiki is right…” Yamamoto said slowly.  “I thought I sensed such a presence myself, but I wasn’t certain.”

“From the Soul Society?!” Tōshirō exclaimed.

“It’s that strong?” Rangiku finally opened her mouth.  

“I’m afraid so,” Yamamoto replied.  “The presence of such a being could only mean matters are much worse than we had perceived.”    

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FAQ (Minor Heroine Spoilers):
> 
> Who are Autumn, Cristy and Carry?  
> 
> They are from the book Heroine, which can be picked up on Amazon Kindle here http://www.amazon.com/Heroine-James-ORell-ebook/dp/B00BNUX4HC .  Autumn and Cristy are cousins, both born of a special race of humans known as Telosians, which were created by Aphrodite and Athena.  Most of these people are born female, with blonde hair and blue eyes (Thus the title: Bleach Blonde).  Carry is from a different world than Cristy and Autumn, who are essentially from our world.  She is also born of a special people, known a Tala’har.  Her kind are charged with protecting wizards and sorceresses and is from a very fantasy-like world.  She has been hiding that she is Autumn’s Tala’har (until this point, that is!).
> 
> What the hell is Autumn?
> 
> She’s what is known as a Balanced One, which is mentioned in the story.  She is the spiritual incarnate (or earthly presence) of one of four extremely powerful beings.  These spiritual beings are so powerful, they can’t inhabit the same plane of existence at the same time.  They act as a center point for that plane and two of them will tear it apart like two magnets tear apart magnetic dust.  Autumn is the incarnate of Alexandral, the Warrior Queen of the Balanced Ones.  It’s rather apparent she’s not too fond of her.
> 
> It seems of the trio of girls have special abilities of some kind...    
> 
> Yep!  Autumn can cast general magic (lightning and such) thanks to her Telosian heritage and other unknown things thanks to her being a Balanced One (I think).  Cristy also gets her powers from her Telosian blood.  She can read and manipulate minds.  She’s also one hell of a markswoman.  Carry can charge magic energy through special weapons Tala’har use.  
> 
>  
> 
> Any other questions about Heroine leave in the comments below, I’ll try my best to answer them!  Also if I screwed something up about Bleach let me know and I'll fix it!


	2. Motion Gone, Colors Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo and company meet their new classmates while Rukia receives orders from the Head Captain himself. Meanwhile, something more sinister than usual is afoot in Hueco Mundo.

“Ichigo!  Ichigo!” Keigo enthusiastically waved as Ichigo approached the school.  Mizuiro stood next to him, shaking his head.  The Karakura High School bustled with activity as Ichigo arrived.    

“Keigo, did I ever tell you that it’s just too early in the morning for  _ you _ ?” Ichigo said as he walked by Keigo and Mizuiro.

“Ah, come on, Ichigo! “ Keigo whined.  “That’s just not nice.  Hey, where’s Rukia?  Lately, you’ve been walking to school with her.”

“She had to take care of something before class,” Ichigo replied.

“Hey Ichigo!” a chipper female voice beckoned from behind.

Ichigo stopped and turned to find Orihime accompanied by Tatsuki approaching from behind.

“Oh! My goddess, Orihime!” Keigo floated toward Orihime.

“Here we go again,” Mizuiro commented.

“Back off, loser,” Tatsuki slammed her hand into Keigo’s face.  

“Morning, Orihime.  Did you see Rukia on the way here?” Ichigo asked.

“Oh yeah, right before I left my house, actually.  She had to talk to Cap… I mean Tōshirō,” Orihime stumbled.  

“I hope she hurries up.  The teachers can be a pain when you are late,” Ichigo said.

“I wouldn’t worry about her,” Tatsuki said.  “Rukia can talk her way out of anything.”

“That’s for sure,” Mizuiro added.

“We better get going,” Ichigo stated.

The group started to walk away, but Orihime didn’t budge.

“You coming?” Tatsuki said.

“Oh... sorry, I have to wait here.  I told the principle I would show around a few new girls that just moved here.

Keigo’s ear’s perked up, “Did someone say new girls?  Great, chicks I haven’t struck out with yet.”

Tatsuki rolled her eyes at Keigo and turned back to Orihime, “Okay, see you in class!”

The group began to move away and Ichigo looked back at Orihime.

“I wonder if those are the same girls I saw earlier?,” he thought to himself.  “She sure seemed concerned by the tall one.  I hope Orihime is okay alone with them, but they didn’t seem threatening.  If anything, the tall one looked extremely shy and had a shocked look on her face.”

 

There was a moment of silence in Orihime’s home as Tōshirō, Rangiku and Rukia took in Head Captain Yamamoto’s last statement.  Rangiku and Rukia exchanged glances.  Tōshirō placed his hand on his chin.  

Tōshirō’s face hardened, “Do you think this being is a threat, Head Captain?” 

“That can’t be for certain.  If this person is what I believe they are, it could mean many things,” the old man stated.  “The first possibility is that we in the Soul Society have become too powerful and too complacent, thus creating a negative impact on the world we are meant to protect.  She could be here to strike us down and there is little we could to stop her.  Such a thing would be the will of the Gods.”

“Then she could side with Aizen?” Tōshirō reasoned.

“Perhaps, but more than likely she could also see him as a result of the same institution and eliminate him as well.  On the other hand, she may be here to stop Aizen.  She might have come to be our ally,” Yamamoto pondered.

“That would be the best situation for us,” Tōshirō nodded.

“And there is also a possibility that her appearance is for an unrelated matter we are not aware of.    If that’s the case, we must make ourselves available to aid her in her quest.”

“That might be difficult while battling Aizen,” Tōshirō added.

“Yes, very true,” the Head Captain turned to Rukia.  “Rukia, you must get to the school and keep a watch on these girls.  They likely know who you are, but try not to appear threatening.”

“I understand, Head Captain.  This mission takes top priority,” Rukia confirmed.

“I will expect a report once you return.  I’ll make myself available to hear it,” Yamamoto said.

“I’ll be going then.  Thank you, sir,” Rukia bowed once again and disappeared out of the door.

“This could get complicated,” Rangiku said.  

 

“So… if we’re in Japan, why isn’t anyone speaking Japanese?” Cristy said while they approached the school.  

“If you want my guess,” Carry said.  “The Mother has it so we hear them in English.  They likely hear us in Japanese.  Also, I’ve never been able to read Japanese either, but here I am, reading signs as we walk by them.”

“That sounds probable,” Autumn nodded. ”I really wouldn’t need such a thing, but I guess it makes my life easier.”

“Of course it does, Miss Quad Lingual,” Carry stuck out her tongue at Autumn.

As they approached the school, they could see a girl with bright, strawberry-blonde hair waiting for them.  She was dressed in the formal version of the uniform, with a gray dress coat over the shirt.  She put on a radiant smile at the appearance of the trio.

“Holy shit, look at the boobs on her!” Cristy said.

“You be good,” Autumn said as she pointed at Cristy.  “That’s Orihime and she gets hit on enough by another girl, so she doesn't need to add you to her list.”

“Although I’m pretty sure she never really notices,” Carry added.

They stopped in front of her and Autumn said “Hello, Orihime.”  Autumn immediately flinched.

“Oh, hi.  You must be the new girls I’m waiting for.  Hey, how did you know my name?” Orihime tilted her head.  A awkward, silent moment followed.

“They told us you’d be waiting for us,” Carry covered.

“Well, I am the only one out here!”

“I’m Carry, this is Autumn and her cousin Cristy.”

“Nice to meet you,” Orihime radiated and bowed slightly.  “Come on, let’s go inside and I’ll show you around!”

“Sorry we’re late,” Cristy said as they went through the school front doors..  “We got lost on the way here.”

“Yeah, that can happen.  I get lost all the time and I have lived here all my life!” Orihime giggled. “We should get together some time and I can show you around town.”

“That sounds  _ more _ than great,” Cristy grinned.

“Be good,” Carry reprimanded.

“What?” Cristy said, mockingly taken aback.  “I’m being on my best behavior.”

“Sure you are,” Carry shook her head.  “And ducks just swim for the exercise.”  

As Orihime showed them through the school, Autumn’s gaze began anchoring to the floor.

“Is something wrong?” Orihime asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing.  Habit, I guess,” Autumn sighed.

Cristy stepped in front of Autumn, “Cous’ this is a new school.  My sister isn’t here and has never been here.  No one is going to say shit to you.  Well, they will, but it will probably more along the lines of them trying to get into that skirt than anything mean.”

“But they’ll…” Autumn started.

“But nothing,” Carry interrupt.  “They will see a beautiful, intelligent woman that they will be dying to get to know.  Trust us on this.”

“I just feel like a AT-ST in this skirt!”  Autumn cried. 

“What’s that?” Orihime asked.

“She may be a nerd, but she’s  _ our _ nerd,” Carry remarked. 

“You are just as bad, you know, for getting the reference,” Cristy giggled.

“Does it have long legs?” Orihime guessed.  “I bet it looks like a frog… but Autumn that doesn’t mean you look like a frog… oh dear,” Orihime rambled.  “Not that there is anything wrong with frogs, my brother I and used to catch them all the time when I was little!  It was really a lot of fun...”

Movement caused Autumn to take a quick glance behind her and she noticed Rukia duck around a corner.

“If you guys will excuse me, I need to use the restroom.  Class is right down the hall right?” Autumn said.

“Yep, they said we’re in the same homeroom, but there are a few other things I can show Carry and Cristy while we wait on you,” Orihime said.

“See you there,” Autumn said.

 

Rukia ducked around a corner, sliding past the girl’s restroom.  “Did she see me?” She thought to herself.  She continued to zig-zag down halls, passing numerous classrooms, until she stopped to peek around a corner.

“You can relax, we’re not your enemy,” she heard a female voice from behind her.

She spun around and was almost startled to see Autumn behind her.  “How did I not notice her?” Rukia thought to herself.

“I don’t know why you think I thought such a thing…” Rukia covered, trying to avoid looking Autumn in the eyes.  That was when Rukia noticed Autumn’s gaze was pointed down, not at her, but at the floor.

“Later, we’ll need to have a talk when there are less prying ears.  But right now, Rukia Kuchiki, unseated member of Squad Thirteen, we need to get to class.  We’re running late.” Autumn said as she walked around Rukia and headed toward class.   

 

Ichigo fiddled with his pencil, hardly paying attention to his homeroom teacher.  He could sense both Rukia and Orihime in the school, along with the tall new girl.  “Rukia wasn’t kidding,” Ichigo thought to himself.  I couldn’t even sense her when I was close, but now that I’m farther away, the energy that girl radiates is immense.  I thought Kenpachi and the old man were powerful, but Autumn is another story entirely.”

Ichigo absent-mindedly kicked his book bag.  It was followed by a squeak and an “Ow!”  He leaned down and opened the bag.  In the bag, Kon peered up at him.

“What are you doing here?” Ichigo scolded in an extremely hushed tone.

“I wanted to see the new hotty-hot-hotties,” Kon whispered.  “I would have got a good look at them too if Rukia didn’t drag you away.  What’s her deal, anyway?”

“I’m not sure, just stay out of sight and be quiet!”

“Class,” the teacher said, catching Ichigo’s attention. He looked up to see his homeroom teacher standing next to the three new girls, with Rukia and Orihime quickly taking their seats.  

“This is Carry Abbey, Autumn Alexander and Cristy Alexander,” she said. “ They are new students from America.  They are new to Japan, so please, help them get used to their new home.”

Autumn meekly bowed in the traditional Japanese manner, Cristy let off a mock salute and Carry just rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.

“You girls can take those three seats in the back,” the teacher pointed to three adjacent empty chairs in the back of the classroom.  The three girls quickly found their seats and sat down.   Autumn kept searching for a way to cover her legs, but without anything available, she settled for placing her bookbag in her lap.  

Just as they were in their seats, an unseen person summoned the teacher out of the classroom.

“Oh man!” Keigo said to Ichigo and Muzuiro.  “Are you guys seeing these hotties?!  I knew American girls were really this hot!”

Ichigo glanced over at Keigo and noticed Chizuru behind him with the same enthralled expression on her face as Keigo had.

“Wow, they might not be my Orihime…” she muttered.

“Slow it down, Keigo,” Mizuiro said.  “You can’t just go smother new people,” he said.  “You have to take it slow and get to know them.  The tall girl obviously isn’t comfortable.  She probably feels like more of a giant here than she did in America.  She’s as tall as Sado.”

Cristy noticed she was being examined by Chizuru and Keigo and let off a flirty wink.

“She winked at me!” Keigo exclaimed.

“No, she didn’t, loser, she was winking at me!” Chizuru fired back.

“Actually, I was winking at both of you,” Cristy spoke over the rest of the class and blew out a kiss.

The two overly hormonal teens nearly melted in their seats.

Chizuru and Keigo’s eyes shifted to Carry as she turned to the pair’s direction.  Carry let out an icy glare.  Shivers went down their spines.  

“Oh.. man… I thought Tatsuki was scary…” Keigo muttered.

“I know…” Chizuru added.

Ichigo leaned over and whispered to Rukia, “So, what did Tōshirō have to say?”

“We don’t know anything yet, I’ll tell you the rest later,” Rukia replied.  

“I hope Autumn can adjust,” Orihime said to Ichigo.  “She hasn’t lifted her eyes from the floor since she got here.  School seems to really bother her.”

“I wonder what could have happened to her before to make her like this?” Ichigo remarked.

“She seems so nice, maybe I’ll try to talk to her again during free period.  Maybe I can invite her over for ice cream!  I hope she likes pickles in it like I do!” Orihime smiled.

Tatsuki laughed from Orihime’s opposite side, “I doubt, but I’m sure anyone can appreciate some ice cream.”

 

Las Noches’ skydome radiated it’s everlasting blue sky as Aizen and his Espada seated themselves for morning tea.  The room buzzed with the bickering back and forth which was typical of Aizen’s Arrancar warriors. Aizen leaned back in his throne and immediately felt a familiar change in the in the air.   The color from the room, which little due to Las Noches’ white walls and floors, disappeared, being replaced with shades of black.  All of the occupants of the room froze and only Aizen remained in motion and maintained his colors.

“My love,” he smiled.

“Hello, dearest,” a scantily clad woman, dressed in a black dress that only covered her breasts and her pelvic area, with a skirt that wrapped around her but left her front revealed, appeared before Aizen.  Hair that appeared just like the night sky dangled from her head and flowed almost down to the floor.  Tangled within it was the skeletal remains of different, unrecognizable creatures.  She sauntered up to Aizen’s throne and placed herself on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs over his arm.

“It has been far too long…Jalana,” the ruler of Hueco Mundo smirked.

“Yes, far too long I’m afraid.  Longer than I wanted it to be, I longed for you every moment.  I unfortunately had to keep out of my parent’s attention, but the time for that has passed.  It is time, my love.”   
“Time?  Like the last time when we were on Earth and you inhabited the body of that human woman?”

“No,” the goddess laughed.  “It is time we take what is rightfully mine and for you to become the god you were always meant to be.  Not a ridiculous facsimile like the Soul King.  You will rule by my side, as my equal: a true deity.”

“So you have found a way through the barrier?”

“The barrier protecting the weapon, yes.  The very weapon that will put an end to my parents.”  Jalana held out her palm and a dagger appeared in her hand.  The dagger was black, the deepest black possible.  “There are only two of these in all of existence.  It will make short work of my parent’s protective measure.”

“I assume this is more complex than just going to the Soul Society and getting the weapon?” Aizen remarked.

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” the goddess sighed.  “the very rules the Soul Society was created upon were designed to keep me away and the weapon itself hidden in the world’s very fabric.  There is no way around that.  That’s where you come in, my love.  In order to get to the weapon, the Soul Society must be completely wiped clean.  It must no longer exist.”

“And you know a way of doing this?” Aizen smiled.

“Yes and it’s not very difficult at all.  I’ll reveal that very detail to you when you are ready to take the Soul Society by force.”

“And what of your mother’s servant who recently made residence in Karakura Town?  She seems quite powerful, more so than anything I have at my disposal.”

“Your means of handling her have also arrived in that very town, in that very school.  A product of our last meeting, you could say.  You may want to keep an eye on him.  He is currently preparing to eliminate some of your enemies.  He really does just want to please his father. Eliminating them wouldn’t be an issue for him. Yet, he will not be ready to combat Autumn, especially with as powerful as she is in this world.  He needs his father to teach him, after all.”

Jalana evaporated from Sōsuke’s lap and the scene returned to its normal, chaotic state. 

Aizen let out a grim smile as his subordinates continued to argue.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FAQ:  
> What the hell happened to Autumn to make her so meek?  
> If you don’t know, it will be explained later. Have no worries.
> 
> Who is Jalana?  
> She’s new to this story so you know as much as anyone else if you’ve read this chapter.
> 
> Note: Removed Jalana's reference to 'Oblivianic counterparts', doesn't make sense in the long run.
> 
> That should cover it for this chapter! Remember, if you have any questions, please put them in the comments below and if they were answered in Heroine, you’ll get your answer here! Also let me know if I screwed something up.


	3. Hidden Swords, Bloody Ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo encounters another trio of new students that aren't quite as friendly as the last set. Orihime finds herself at one of these student's mercy.

During the free period, many students gather on the roof and Ichigo and Rukia were no exception.  They were joined by Orihime, Chad and Uryū. They could see Autumn, Cristy and Carry on the other side of the roof.  Autumn had her back up against the wall, knees tucked up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs and face down into her knees.  Carry was seated next to her with one arm around her, pulling her close.  Cristy stood up, one foot up against the wall, smacking loudly on bubble gum.

“I won’t lie...her spiritual energy is intimidating…”  Uryū said in a quiet tone.  

“But she seems so down,” Orihime added in.

“She said she’s not our enemy, but I can’t read her,” Rukia said.   “I can’t tell if she’s telling the truth or not.  And even with that massive energy, she managed to sneak up on me.  She also knew I was a soul reaper… and knew my full name, squad and seat… or lack there of one.”  

“Let’s not forget her size.  Big people like her and I aren’t usually known for being stealthy,” Chad said.  “That takes tremendous skill.”  

“We should quit talking about her and go talk to her,” Ichigo said as he left the group, heading directly to the trio of girls.

“Wait...Ichigo!” Rukia called to him but he ignored her and kept walking.  

As he moved across the crowded roof, another group of three moved into his way.  It was two twin girls, both with dark purple pigtails, with white stripes mixed throughout.  The male, who appeared to be the leader of the group, was shorter and had spiked hair the color of blood.  

“Hello there, Ichigo Kurosaki,” the boy said.  

“Do I know you?” Ichigo replied.

“No, but you will,” he let out a sinister grin. “You and I will come to know each other very well, very soon.”

“I believe Ichigo was coming to speak with me,” Autumn towered over the shorter guy with the red hair and his escorts.  Cristy and Carry were on either side of her.  “Maybe it would be best if you just went on your way.”

“I don’t like being pushed around by giant blonde harpies,” he said, as he reached for his side, as if to draw a non-existent sword. 

“We can discuss that... _ later _ ,” she let out with a snarl.

“You’re right, this isn’t the place or the time, I’ll see you soon, Autumn Alexander,” the boy turned around, with his hands in pockets and walsed away.  The twins followed him.

“Who the hell was that guy?” Ichigo pondered.

“I don’t know… but he’s dangerous,” Autumn said, her eyes slowly sinking back to the cement.  “You wanted to speak with us.  I assume you wanted to talk about who and more importantly what I am.”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Ichigo replied.

“I tried to convey to Rukia that we’re not your enemies, but I guess that’s hard to believe when a monster like me sneaks up on you.  We’re here to help you with the whole Aizen mess.”

“And if what we’re told is right, it’s going to get a lot messier,” Carry added in.

“I wouldn’t be shocked if it had to do with that bloody douche and his twin bimbettes,” Cristy said.

Autumn and Carry turned their gaze to Cristy.

“What?” Cristy said.  “”He’s a douchebag and he has blood red hair, what the hell else am I supposed to call him?”

“Something that isn’t a period joke…” Carry rolled her eyes.

“You guys are no fun sometimes,” Cristy pouted.  

“We can meet at my house,” Autumn offered.  “If you are comfortable with that, of course.  I’m sure your Dad would have a heart attack if you brought this many girls home with you.”

“Yeah, he’s a pain...how did you know about my Dad?” Ichigo questioned.

“I know a lot of things, but right now, you should be concerned with Kon sneaking out of your bag and trying to make a break for it.”

“Damn it!” Ichigo spun around and dashed for the stuffed lion as he attempted to flee.

 

Orihime skipped along the road home after parting ways with Tatsuki. She smiled and hummed a happy tune until she felt an ominous feeling creep up on her.  She spun around and found the red-haired young man and his twin lady friends, less than a foot behind her.

“Hello...Inoue,” the young man let out a sinister grin.  He glanced behind him to the twins.  “Make sure we aren’t interrupted by any ‘unimportant’ visitors.”  

The twins nodded and then vanished.

Orihime instinctively shrunk back, calling Santen Kesshu, but the young man smashed through the shield easily with his bare hand.  He snatchd her collar and lifted her up off her feet with that single arm.  He reached once again for the sword that isn’t there but one materialized as he grasped.

“Don’t worry, lovely Orihime, I’m not going to kill you.  I’m just going to leave a mark so our friend Ichigo knows I was here…”

 

Ichigo sneered as he and Rukia continued their trip home.  Ichigo glanced to his bookbag, hanging by one strap off of his back.

“Kon, you ever do that again, I’ll stuff you into something far less mobile.  Or maybe I’ll just let you go back to being Bosco again,” he growled.

“No, Ichigo, not that, anything but that!” Kon pleaded from inside the pack.

“And thanks to you, I’m going to be reporting in with the Head Captain late.  What am I supposed to say?  The chase of an illegal konpaku kept me at school?”    

“No… I guess that would be a bad idea…” Kon whimpered.

“So now I have to lie, to the highest ranked of my superiors, thank you, Kon.  You are so getting it when we get back to Ichigo’s.”

Rukia and Ichigo stopped mid-step.  

“Do you feel that?” Ichigo asked.

“Yes, it’s Inoue… and someone else…” Rukia stammered.

“I’m going ahead!” Ichigo said as he reached into his bookbag, snatched Kon’s soul candy out of the stuffed lion and popped it into his mouth.  The result was Ichigo being pushed out of his human body.

“Bankai!” He yelled, as both he and his zanpakutō transformed into his Tensa Zangetsu form and blasted off and was quickly out of sight.

“Damn it, I hate when he does that,” Rukia growled.

“Ah, Takehiko isn’t going to be happy we let one get through,” a female voice said from above.

“Nah, stupid!  That’s the  _ invited  _ guest, remember?” Another said.

Rukia looked up and saw the two girls that had accompanied the guy with red hair standing in mid air, holding zanpakutō.  

“But… that’s not possible…” Rukia muttered when she realized they were still in human bodies.

“Well, Natsuko, it looks like we get to play with this one,” one of the identical girls grinned.

“I’m so happy, Natsuki!  I was getting bored playing the good little schoolgirl.  It’s time to make her bleed!”

Rukia popped her soul candy into her mouth and was pushed from her gigai.  “Chappy, Kon, take cover!”.

The twins paid no attention to Kon and her gigai and came at Rukia at the same time.  She lifted her sword and easily blocked both attacks, at the same time with the same parry.  The force of the blow knocked Rukia back.  The twins prepared for another attack.

Natsuko swung high first and Rukia used her low center of gravity to simply bend backwards to avoid the attack.  Natsuki came at her just as fast with a mid level attack that Rukia spun out of the way to avoid.  She turned just in time to watch Natsuki collide with Natsuko and one twin fell on top of the other to the ground.

“Well.. I might be outnumbered and overpowered,” Rukia said to herself.  “But it seems they aren’t very bright.  I just hope Ichigo is okay.”

 

As the red-haired young man lifted his blade toward Orihime’s face, he caught movement out of his peripheral vision.  He dropped her and hopped backwards, just missing a slice from Ichigo.

“I don’t know who you, but nobody hurts my friends,” Ichigo snarled.

“Oh, good, you’re here,” the teen smiled.  

“Who the hell are you?!” Ichigo demanded.

“How rude am I?,” the boy grinned, holding zanpakutō in front of him.  “I know who you are but you know nothing about me.  My apologizes for the oversight.  You should know the name of the man is going to kill you.  My name is Takehiko Aizen.”

“Aizen…” Ichigo muttered.

“Yes and it’s the very Aizen you are thinking of.  I have come to this wretched town to slay you and the rest of my father’s enemies.  I will do so in name of my mother, the goddess Jalana!” Takehiko pronounced.  “Now, do me a favor, and don’t die too quickly!”

Takehiko lunged at Ichigo sword first.  Ichigo attempted to parry the attack but Zangetsu was knocked from his hand and the backlash knocked him to the ground in front of Orihime, leaving a gigantic gash in his side.  

 

“Ugh, so many books!” Cristy complained as she lifted her bookbag higher onto her shoulder.  “Is it just me, or do Japanese teachers expect you to learn everything on your own and that you come to school to be tested.”

“That’s what it seems to me.  I always hate new schools, but I think this one has to be my least favorite.  And this uniform...don’t get me started,” Carry complained.  

“Do you feel that?” Autumn said quietly.

“Somewhat?” Carry answered.

“Rukia is just ahead of us and she’s outnumbered.  I think I feel Orihime and Ichigo are beyond that.  And the one they are with… help Rukia, I’m going after Ichigo!” Autumn began to run and then simply disappeared.

“Where the hell did she go?” Carry frantically looked for Autumn.  “Damn it, she knows I’m her Tala’har.  She can’t be running off like that, come on, Cristy!”

The two girls broke into a sprint.

 

As Takehiko approached the downed Ichigo, Orihime stepped in front of him and held her up her shield.

“Dear Inoue, I said I don’t want to kill you.  My mother told me that father has use of your abilities and I’d really prefer not to anger him by harming you.  Please don’t make me kill y…”

A force sped around Takehiko and landed between him and Orihime.  A blast of lightning hit the ground before him and knocked him away from Orihime and Ichigo.     

Once the dust settled, Autumn could be seen, her fist in the middle of a pothole sized blackened crater.

“Leave them alone.  This is between you and me,” she hissed.

“So, it’s you.  Grandmother’s interloper,” Takehiko said as stood up.  “I really wanted to kill Ichigo and company first, but I guess I’m going to have to start with you.  I wanted to save the real challenge for la…”

Takehiko’s rant was interrupted by a lightning blast he was forced to dive out of the way of.

“I’m tired of hearing your mouth already…” she growled, hand engulfed in energy.

 

Carry and Cristy found the two twins with their zanpakutōs on the ground, struggling to get untangled from each other.

Cristy glanced down and then looked to Rukia, “Need some help?”

“I guess.  Although, It would be a lie to say I’m not enjoying this.  This is the second time this has happened,” Rukia smiled.

“And what am I supposed to do?” Carry said as Cristy’s dagger appeared in her hand.

“You have your ring, don’t you?” Cristy said.

Carry held her hand in a fist and charged the ring with fire.  Flames sprouted from the ring.

“That’s never happened before,” Carry gasped.

“Mom said we are more powerful here,” Cristy said.  “Speaking of which, give me a minute and we won’t have to deal with these twits.  Keep me covered.”

“You okay with that, Rukia,” Carry called out to the soul reaper.

“Sure,” Rukia readied her zanpakutō.  

The twins were finally back on their feet and back to back, swords ready.

“Outnumbering a weakling like Rukia here was no fun,” Natsuko spat.  “Come on, sis.  It’s time for a nice blood bath.  I hear it does wonders for the skin…”

Natsuki simply grinned as the both girls leapt at their respective opponents.  

Natsuko attempted to get behind Carry.  Carry instinctively spun and while charging her ring with the power of earth punched her in the chest   The force sent Natsuko reeling past Cristy into a tree, which cracked upon impact.     

“Whoa,” Carry gasped.

Rukia dodged Natsuki’s sloppy sword swings with ease and said, “It’s a shame.  All that power and you have no idea how to use it.  You’re worse than I was when I first started out.”

“Shut up!” Natsuki screamed, just before Rukia tripped her.

“Got it!” Cristy exclaimed.  Natsuki stood up off the ground and began to walk away from Rukai.

“What?” Rukia gawked.

Natsuki approached Natsuko, “Ah… sister… I can’t control my body…”

“What do you mean you can’t control your body,” Natsuko said as she stood up from Carry’s blow.

“What do you think I mean!” Natsuki said as she took a swing at her sister.

“Stop that!” Natsuko yelled as she blocked the attack.

 

“What...just happened….” Rukia stammered.

“Cristy mind controlled her,” Carry stated.

“Yeah, sorry, usually I’m faster but there is something odd about those two.  I think it’s the whole dual human, soul reaper thing.  Once I got past that, it was really easy.  she hardly controls herself, so controlling her wasn’t all that hard.”

“We have to get going, Autumn and Ichigo are probably fighting that guy with the red hair,” Carry said.

“One moment,” Rukia said as her zanpakutō began to glow, “Dance!  Sode no Shirayuki!”

A white pillar appeared under and around the twins as they remained deadlocked, blade-to-blade.  The pillar encased the twins in ice.”

“Cool,” Cristy nodded.  “Pun...seriously not intended, but still awesome!”  

 

Autumn landed a, jumping energy empowered uppercut that sent Takehiko spiraling to the ground.  He struggled to get back up.  Orihime kneeled next Ichigo, urgently trying to heal his wounds.

“It’s not possible… it’s like you are getting stronger…” he muttered.

“When you train all your life to protect the innocent, this is the kind of power you can achieve.  A bloodthirsty psychopath like you could never beat me, even when I’m unarmed,” Autumn said.

“But… I’m the son of the god and the most powerful soul reaper who has ever lived!” Takehiko stammered as he struggled to stand.

“And I’m a Balanced One, but that’s not what makes me strong.  Being born with power doesn’t give you the will and skill to use it properly.”

In the blink of an eye, Takehiko found himself surrounded by soul reapers.  Toshiro, Renji, Rangiku, Ikkaku and Yumichika surrounded him in the sky.  Rukia appeared up from the rear, with Carry and Cristy running as fast as their legs could carry them.

“It’s over!” Captain Hitsugaya declared.

“Never!” Takehiko howled.  “I’ll kill you all!”

A garganta gate opened behind Takehiko.  A man in a white coat,  kosode and hakama stepped through the portal.  His brown hair was slicked back and he had a zanpakutō at his side.

“Aizen…” Autumn growled.

“Takehiko, my son,” Aizen grinned as he placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Father… Is it really...you?” He stared at Aizen with saucer eyes.  

“Father?” Toshiro’s mouth went agape.

 

“Let me kill this lackey of the establishment to prove my worth!” Takehiko declared.

Gin and Kaname appeared next to Aizen, each of them carrying a partially thawed twin.They shivered with ice sickles still hanging off of them.

“The fact that you can stand against a powerful being for so long and still live is a testament of your worth.  She has a lifetime of training, it will take more than just sheer power to defeat her.  Come with me and I will give you the training you need to crush her.”

“Yes… of course!” Takehiko stuttered.  The six of them disappeared into the garganta and it shut behind them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's so special about Carry's ring?  
> It's a Tala'har signet ring that is made of the same metal as Tala'har weapons, thus able to transmit magic energy.


	4. Bloody Seals, Lightning's Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle's over but it's fairly obvious that the war is just beginning.

Autumn glared into the space where the garganta had been.  She shook with fury, lightning pulsing from her clenched fists.  Ichigo was still unconscious, but the crushing weight of Autumn’s rising spiritual pressure pushed Orihime to the floor.

“Everyone, back!” Tōshirō commanded.  Rangiku and Renji dove down and retrieved Orihime and Ichigo and retreated to a safe distance.  

Rukia attempted to pull Carry and Cristy back, but Carry gently removed her hand from her shirt.

“I’ve got this, Cristy you back off too,” Carry said.  Cristy nodded and followed Rukia to a safe distance.

“Autumn...honey… It’s okay…” Carry said as she cautiously approached her charge.

“No...it’s not… they got away…” Autumn said through clenched teeth.

“But everyone is okay…Orihime and Ichigo are fine.  You saved them,” Carry said as her steps became slower and she could feel herself being pushed to the ground.

“But… they’ll be back…  _ he’ll _ be back…”

“And we’ll take care of them then, but right now, everything is okay…” Carry finally came within arms reach of Autumn.  She could feel the heat of the lightning radiating from her fists.  She nearly fell to her knees but forced herself to stay standing.  

“But they  _ always  _ get away…” Autumn collapsed to her knees and the spiritual pressure abated. “Carter… the bastard that hurt my mother and killed your father… his sniper… they all got away.  They always get away.  Alexandral’s right… I’m pathetic.”  Tears began to run down Autumn’s face.

Carry kneeled to her level, “You’re not pathetic.  Didn’t the Mother herself pick you to take care of this?  Remember, she’s the one that wanted you, in specific, to handle this,  _ not _ Alexandral.”  Carry wrapped her arms around Autumn and pulled her close.

“Yeah… I guess… That still doesn’t make it okay.  I’m sorry I’m so messed up,” Autumn continued to cry.

“It’s fine, no harm, no fowl,” Carry comforted.

 

“Renji, I’m awake, you can put me down now,” Ichigo said.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Renji sat Ichigo down on the ground.

“You can keep holding me up if you want, Rangiku,” Orihime giggled.  “No one can see you and then I can pretend to be able to fly to passerby!” 

“That’s sound like a lot of fun, but I don’t think the Captain would like that too much.  He’s generally no fun,” Rangiku replied.

Tōshirō opened his mouth to reply, but then thought better of it and left it shut.  Rukia flash stepped up to him.

“Sir, do you want me to go on ahead and report to the Head Captain?” She asked.

“Yes, make sure to report all that has happened here.”

Rukia disappeared.  

Tōshirō lowered himself and approached the pair of girls on the ground.

“My name is Tōshirō Hitsugaya.  Do you know who I am?”

“Yes and I’m sorry you had to see me like that…” Autumn wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up.  “You are Captain of the 10th squad of the 13 Court Guard Squads of the Seireitei of the Soul Society.”

“You are rather well informed,” Tōshirō gaze followed Autumn as she stood, who was over two feet taller than him.  “Then I assume you know who Aizen is as well.”

“Yes,” Autumn nodded.

“And I don’t mean to grill you with questions, but may I ask how you know all of this?” Tōshirō said.

“Well… it might be hard to believe, but I knew I was going to have to tell you eventually.  I don’t have any proof of this, but Carry, Cristy and I come from another world.  In that other world, the events that surround you and the Soul Society, are part of a story told graphic novel form.”

“Wait a second… are you saying you’ve seen us in a manga?” Ichigo’s mouth dropped.

“Does that mean I’m a superhero?  Do I have a cool costume?” Orihime exclaimed.

“Yes, Ichigo that’s exactly where I’ve seen you before. And in anime.   If you noticed my shocked look this morning, that was why,” Autumn answered.  “And Orihime, you don’t need a costume to be a hero. You do plenty well without one.”

“So… do you know how this story ends?” Tōshirō raised an eyebrow.

“No… and I don’t think that matters anymore.  The boy with the red hair, Takehiko and those twins… weren’t part of the story.  We were brought here by a being, a god,  known as ‘the Mother’ and she told us things were supposed to go similar to how they did in the story, but an outside influence is now directing Aizen’s actions.”

“I think it’s a fair assumption that this ‘outside influence’ could be the boy’s mother, but it doesn’t explain his strength,” Tōshirō reasoned.

“He referred to me as ‘Grandmother’s interloper’ and called himself the son of the goddess Jalana, so I’m afraid that makes him the son of a true goddess   That’s why he’s so powerful.”

“I see…” Tōshirō put his hand on his chin.  “This is all rather remarkable, but it also all falls in line.  Aizen wouldn’t have shown up here, without his Arrancar army, without a good reason.  To have the son of a god on his side would suit his needs.”

“Yes… and that’s why I was so upset when he got away.  He could appear at anytime, kill any one of you and there might be nothing I can do about it.  It makes me tempted to abstain from sleeping.”   
“I don’t think you’ll have to do that,” Tōshirō took a deep breath.  “One last question and we can discuss other matters later.  How are you so powerful?  I feel bad for doubting Rukia when she described you to us this morning.”

“I’m what’s called a Balanced One, Captain.  Or more precisely, the earthly incarnation of a Balanced One.  Balanced Ones exist on a purely spiritual plane of existence, one I assume is far removed from your Soul Society.  They are beings that are known for policing ‘gods’, although I don’t like calling them that.  I prefer their proper name: guardians.”

“And do you think Jalana is one of these ‘guardians’?” Tōshirō asked.

“I’m certain she’s not.  If she was, this would be easy.  The guardians don’t usually have much more power than a soul reaper captain, especially since now none of them are being actively worshipped by the masses.   That’s where they derive much of their power.  No, she’s a real goddess, a daughter of the two Creation deities, the ones who created everything there is.” 

“That…” Tōshirō trailed off.

“Sounds like a lot of trouble,” Ichigo added.  “I hate to interrupt, but I have this nagging feeling we’re forgetting something.”

“Your body?” Cristy spoke up.

“Oh...no… and Chappy is probably with him.  I’m going to end up with a lot of bruises!”  Ichigo disappeared off in the direction to the school.    

 

“And that concludes my report, sir,” Rukia said to the image of the Head Captain on the screen.  “I’m certain that if she wasn’t here today, we’d all have been killed.  That boy was a monster.”

“I see…” the Head Captain pondered.  “I think it’s plain to see this girl is a heikouiki and she is here to combat this boy.”

“Yes sir, that’s what it appears.  Captain Hitsugaya is likely asking her questions now and will have more detailed information.  When I see Autumn next, would you like me to request her to meet with you?”

“No, not yet, Miss Kuchiki.  I’m afraid I’ll need to prepare myself for such a conversation.”  The Head Captain paused for a moment.  “May I confide in something with you, Rukia?” 

“Yes, sir...of course,” Rukia stumbled.

“I only choose you to tell this to because you are one of the very people I have wronged.  I do not look forward to speaking with the Heikouiki because of shame.  I am shamed by many of the things have happened on my watch throughout the years and more recently, what we put you through.  That is among the things I will have to answer for.”

“I don’t understand, sir.  Why would you need to answer to her?”

“Because, her kind is an agent of the gods themselves.”

“Oh… well sir about happened to me… I’ll let her know that…”

“Please, Miss Kuchiki, there is no need for that.  In the end, it was my stubborn adherence to tradition that made me proceed with that punishment even though it was plainly obviously something was afoot.  The most trusted in our organization tried to make me see this and I refused.  I alone am accountable.  Thanks to my actions, Aizen pulled the wool over all of our eyes, obliterated the Central 46, nearly had you killed and made off with the Hōgyoku, which he has used to raise the army that is now arrayed against us.”

Rukia stood speechless in front of the monitor as Yamamoto was silent.

“I ask that you keep what I’ve said to yourself,” Yamamoto broke the awkward silence.

“Yes, sir,” Rukia nodded.  “You can count on me.”

“Oh and I think I’ll have to have a talk with Jūshirō about your rank… you are dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir,” Rukia bowed and turned to leave Orihime’s living room.

 

Rukia left Orihime’s apartment to see Orihime arriving. “Oh, hi Rukia!” She said as she waved.

“Hi, Orihime.  Everything go well after I left?” Rukia said as the teen approached.

“Yes, everything is fine.  Hey, did you know we’re comic book characters?”

“No… no I didn’t…” Rukia smiled.

“I asked Autumn if I had a cool costume, but she said no.”

“What would Autumn know about that?” Rukia’s eyes bugged out.

“Oh, that’s how she knows so much about all of us.  Now, I’m going to go get changed and we’re all going to meet at Mr. Urahara’s. Ururu showed up after you left and invited us all.   Ichigo is leading your soul candy there right now, although she never seems very happy with him.”

“I’ll wait for you then, it’s best we don’t travel alone right now,” Rukia said.  

“I’ll be right back!” Orihime announced as she disappeared into her home.

“Comic book character…” Rukia shook her head with a grin.  “Is this for real… or is this just Orihime being Orihime…”

 

Autumn, Cristy and Carry arrived home with Rangiku in tow, who was now in her gigai. She was wearing her typical school uniform, with the shirt barely buttoned up for the world to see her massive cleavage.   Each of them went into their respective homes and Autumn waved Rangiku to follow her.  

“Oh, hello, sweetheart,” Autumn’s ‘mother’ said when she came in the door.  “Is this a new friend you met at school?”

“Yeah, sure. This is Rangiku.   I’m going back out, I just came home to change.  Come on, Rangiku, follow me.”

The two tall ladies went up the staircase to the second floor of the home and into Autumn’s room.

“Your mom seems nice,” Rangiku said as they entered Autumn’s room.

“That’s not my mom, unfortunately.  She looks like her, almost acts like her and cooks like her, but it’s not her.  She would have known at first glance you weren’t a student if it was really my mother.”

“Then, who is she?”

“Just some ‘copy’ made by the Mother.  I really try not think about it too much,” Autumn turned to her closet and saw two katana propped up against it.  One had a white saya and tsukamaki and the other’s were black.  A small note was on a book lying in front of the swords.  

Autumn picked up the book and removed the note from it.

“Hey, that’s Ichigo on the cover!” Rangiku’s eyes went circular.  

“Yeah, this is the first volume, so there really isn’t any harm in you looking at it.  That stuff has already happened.  I guess the Mother left it with the swords, because it’s not mine.   I only own one volume of the story myself and it’s not that one...”

“Something wrong?” Rangiku asked.

“No, I’m fine,” Autumn covered as she handed the book to Rangiku.

Rangiku began to skim through the book.

“Why’s it called  _ Bleach _ ?”

“I don’t know, really.  I’ve always assumed it is because people accuse Ichigo using bleach before he dyes his hair, which he doesn’t do.”

“That makes as much sense as anything.  What’s the note say?” 

“These must be sealed with your blood before use, they are Telosian steel.”

“Telosian?  What’s that?” 

“It’s the race myself and Cristy come from.  I guess ‘breed of human’ is a better way of putting it.  The whole blonde hair, blue eyes and magic thing?  That’s because we’re Telosians.  Regardless of who the father is, the offspring is always a Telosian.  It’s roughly an 80% to 90% chance that child will be female too.”

“But, that’s not a lot of boys to go around…”

“It made males rare and thus protected.  So the women were always in charge.  The race was created by the Greek ‘goddesses’ Athena and Aphrodite with help from my spiritual side, Alexandral.”  Autumn turned to her drawers and began to rummage through them.

“That sounds sort of suspicious.”

“Yes, because Alexandral essentially manipulated things to get the incarnate she wanted.  I even look like the bitch… excuse my language…”

“Wow…”

“So, I’m going to change and we can get going.”

Rangiku noticed the rather damaged jeans and faded shirt Autumn had found in her dresser, “I bet you have all sorts of cute outfits to wear being as pretty as you are.”

“No, cute is something I try to avoid.  It brings unwanted attention.”

“Why would you not want attention?  You’re beautiful young lady.”

“Trust me, where I come from, attention brings me nothing but trouble.”

“I suppose you don’t want to talk about it, do you?”

“Not really,” Autumn said as she put her clothing over her shoulder.. “I better hurry, I don’t want to keep the others waiting.”

 

Rukia and Orihime caught up with the rest at Urahara’s shop, where everyone was in the common room, sitting around a low long table.   Kisuke was at the center of the table, with everyone else spread out around it.  Uryu and Chad had joined the group as well.  

“Lady Kuchiki!” Her gigai sprang to life when she saw her master.

“Hi, Chappy, now I think it’s best I return to my gigai.”

“Before I go Lady Kuchiki, I have terrible news,” she pointed an accusatory finger at Ichigo.  “He touched your gigai while you were gone!”

“I didn’t do anything!  She’s talking about Kon!”

Kon hopped on the table, “Hey, I didn’t do anything wrong!  I just grabbed her wrist to try to keep her away from the fighting and she started beating the tar out of me.”

“You mean beating the tar out of  _ me _ !”  Ichigo growled while he rubbed his neck.  

“That is what happened, my lady,” Chappy nodded.  “He should have never touched your gigai.”

“I think we can let it go this time,” Rukia chuckled as she stepping into the gigai and pulled the soul candy out of her mouth.

“So, now that we are all here,” Kisuke smirked, “we can get down to business.”

“Why does it not surprise me you seem to know something about this, Kisuke,” Tōshirō said.

“You know me, Captain,” Kisuke waved his fan in front of his face.

“I have a feeling you know a lot, Mr. Urahara,” Autumn said.  “I’d prefer to skip the part where you give us vague information and get straight to the point.” 

“What would make you think I’d ever do such a thing?” Kisuke mockingly took offense.

Autumn opened the  _ Bleach  _ manga, found a specific page and handed it to Kisuke, “Here you are, about to ‘help’ Rukia, remember?”

“Not my proudest moment, but I understand.  I’ll get straight to the matter at hand, like requested,” he said as he handed the book back to her.  “I’ve met with the Mother on several occasions.  In that past, she’s always just brought me information and things that I should be aware of.  Today, that came to a head when she appeared at my shop, telling me that her wayward daughter is starting to make her move against the Soul Society.”

“And she’s doing this by backing Aizen,” Tōshirō added in.

“Precisely.  Her name is Jalana and she’s part of a pair of twins.  Her brother Jalan, went rogue and was sealed somewhere and don’t ask the details, I have no idea how.  She’s rather angry at her parents for allowing this to happen, so she’s been conspiring against them.  Unfortunately, her conspirator is Aizen.”

“But why the Soul Society?” Uryu asked.

“I wish I knew.  Mother is better at dancing around questions than I am,” Kisuke said.  “All I know is for her plan to succeed it requires the complete obliteration of the Soul Society.  I don’t just mean destroying all the buildings and such.  I mean for it literally not exist anymore.”

“Does Aizen have means to do that?” Tōshirō asked.

“Don’t know.  I assume Jalana does but if I was her I wouldn’t be handing it over to him quite yet.  I’d wait until they are about to launch the attack.”

“Couldn’t a god just go there and destroy the place herself?” Chad asked.

“I’ve been told the Soul Society has been created in a way that prevents her from stepping foot in it.  That’s why she needs Aizen to do it for her,” Kisuke explained. 

“What about this kid of theirs?” Ichigo jumped in.  “That guy’s a real problem.  He didn’t even hit me.  I just parried one of his blows and it knocked Zangetsu out of my hands, sent me flying and left a massive gash in my gut.”

“She wasn’t very specific about him, but I assume that’s why Autumn’s here,” Kisuke explained.  “She’s the only one that can take him on from a power level perspective.  The rest of us might as well be made of glass.”

“I’m more worried about the fact he’s a soul reaper,” Autumn jumped in.  “Not only do we have to worry about the possibility of an unknown shikai or bankai, but there is always the possibility of Aizen having him use the Hōgyoku.  Am I right, Kisuke, in saying that the output of what it can do is directly linked to the power of the person using it?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Kisuke nodded.  “That was something I hadn’t taken into account.  At least we have time, maybe more so than before.  He needs to train the kid before he fights you again.  I heard you gave him a real beating.”

“Not enough of one, he should have been dead,” Autumn growled.

“Man, this chick is serious,” Kon shuttered.

“Now that we speaking of combat, this would be a good time to show you all what the Mother requested of me,” he pulled a large, somewhat flat wooden box out from under the table.  He slid the box over to Cristy.

Cristy opened the box and a huge grin populated her face, “For me, Mr. Urahara, you shouldn’t have!” Cristy removed a pair of mostly black pistols that appeared much like normal pistols, with gold handles.  Alongside them was a pair of bracelets also colored in the same gold.   

“Those just aren’t any pistols, they condense your spirit energy into bullet form.  Just be careful when firing them, you could tire yourself out fast,” Kisuke explained.

“Oh, I’m not so worried about it,” Cristy let out a flirtatious grin.  “If you let me thank you for these, you can see how boundless my energy really is.”

Every female in the room, sans Cristy, glared at Kisuke.

“Oh, no, that’s okay Cristy.  Your thanks is enough,” Mr. Urahara said. 

“So what are the bracelets for, Mr. Urahara?” Carry asked.

“Oh, yes, I almost forgot about those,” Kisuke said with relief.  “As long as you wear them, you can summon the pistols from anywhere.  And you can send them back where they came just as easily.”

“That’s awesome!” Cristy exclaimed.

“And maybe you can help me with something like that,” Carry pulled a massive bag from along side of her.  She dropped it on the table with a thud.  She unzipped the huge black back to reveal a massive scythe with a spearblade on the end.

“That’s quite a weapon you have there,” Renji commented.

Yumichika leaned over to Ikkaku, “I thought she kept a dead body in that bag.  She looks like type of person who might carry one around.”

“I heard that, pretty boy!” Carry snarled.  “I might be a bit rusty with this thing, why don’t you help me fix that?!”

“No, thank you…” Yumichika shuttered.  “I’d prefer not trade blows with something so… gruesome… and I’m not exactly liking the feeling I’m getting from it.”

“Come on,” Ikkaku slapped Yumichika on the back.  “She’s calling you out.  You’re not going to disgrace our squad by refusing, are you?”

“Actually, I think that’s the smart thing, Yumichika,” Kisuke said.  “The Mother told me specifically about this weapon.  It’s called the Dharg’Syth and it’s every bit a match for most zanpakuto, being a Tala’har can channel elemental energy into it.  It contains a part of the energy of every Tala’har who’s wielded it throughout the ages.”

“That’s something I didn’t even know about it,” Carry held the weapon away from her for the moment.  “But it’s a bit too big to carry around with me, so is there something you can do, like with Cristy’s pistols?”

“Yes and Autumn I have the same measure available for those new swords of yours,” Kisuke said.

“Oh… you didn’t make them, did you, Mr. Urahara?” Autumn asked.

“No, I’m not sure where she found them.  But she wanted me to remind you to seal them.”

“Oh, I better do that now, I almost forgot,” Autumn produced a duffle bag from under the table and removed the two katana from it.

“I read in my book that when sealing a Telosian weapon, you have to name it as you do it,” Autumn said as she pulled a small knife and a small cloth from her pocket.  She cut into her right arm, as most of the room gawked in horror.  She removed the white sword from it’s saya and said, “I name you, Shirohime.”  She rubbed the blood into the weapon and it vanished as the sword began to glow for a moment.  She repeated the procedure with the black sword, while saying “I name you, Kurohime.” 

“Here, let me take care of that before it gets worse,” Rangiku said, who was seated next to her.  Her hand began to glow as she held it over Autumn’s arm but to her disdain, the wound didn’t change.

“I know I’m not that bad at healing kido…” she said.

“Oh, that’s right!  I don’t think any sort of healing magic works on me.  My mother could never get hers to work.  Might have something to do with what I am.”

“That’s probably true, Autumn,” Kisuke said.  “It likely means your energy is incompatible with the energy of others.  That’s important for us to know.  That means if you are wounded badly, we won’t be able to heal you with kido and you could be out of combat for a long period of time… or worse…” 

“That means I have to be careful,” Autumn sighed.  “And only fight when necessary.” 


	5. Rage Incarnate, Beauty Consumed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamamoto shares a tale with his captains about how he knows so much about Balanced Ones.

“So, what do you think got into old man Yama that made him call this meeting out of the blue?” Shunsui said to Jūshirō as they strolled into the gate of the Squad One barracks.

“I can’t say for sure, although I can say one thing: it likely relates to Aizen,”Jūshirō replied.

Ahead of them, Mayuri Kurotsuchi stood, with his arms crossed, with a sneer across his face.

“I would like to know myself,” he growled.  “He shows up to my barracks unannounced this morning to use the communication equipment to speak with Captain Hitsugaya and then insists on returning later that day.  After he has his conversation with an  _ unseated  _ soldier, he demands the equipment be moved to Squad One’s barracks so Hitsugaya can deliver his report in front of all of the captains.”

“Oh, such a chore,” Shunsui laughed.  “You must have had to do something useful for once.”

“Why you… you should know he interrupted extremely important research!” Kurotsuchi squawked.  

“And that unseated soldier, as you put it, is one of mine and a very important one at that, so I suggest you watch your tone when addressing her,” Jūshirō said in a low tone.

Mayuri rolled his eyes as they entered the meeting room, with Chōjirō Sasakibe holding the door for them. They found that they were last of the captains to make it to the meeting.  On a screen at the end of the table, Tōshirō was waiting for the meeting to begin.  Around the table were Captains Unohana, Zaraki, Kuchiki, Suì-Fēng, Komamura, and Head Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto at the top of the table.  Shunsui and Jūshirō took their seats near the top of the table and Mayuri took a seat close to the equipment that projected Tōshirō’s image.

“Now that everyone is here, you may start your report, Captain Hitsugaya,” Yamamoto said.  “Keep in mind I have not briefed the other captains on any of this, so you must start from the very beginning and attempt not to leave any details out.”

“Certainly, Head Captain,” Tōshirō nodded. “It started this morning when I received an unexpected visit from Rukia Kuchiki…”

 

“And that concludes my report on the matters at hand.  To summarize, the enemy seems to have gained not only a rather powerful new ally, who happens to be the son of Aizen and the goddess Jalana, but they now may have the capability to create an even more powerful army to pit against us.”

“I see,” Yamamoto said with a deep breath.  “Much of this is very troubling indeed.  I too had not considered what Takehiko might be able to do with the Hōgyoku.  Yet, we are fortunate to have Lady Alexander and her allies.  The girl is obviously bright and very skilled, according to both you and Miss Kuchiki’s descriptions.”  

“Yes,” Tōshirō nodded.  “But I worry about her mental state.  As I mentioned earlier, if she had became any more upset than she was, we may have been crushed by her sheer spiritual pressure.  I was shocked that her guardian was able to withstand it to get close enough to calm her.”

“And the fact that this Takehiko was able to do such a thing to Ichigo without laying a hand on him is equally disturbing.  Ichigo’s base level of energy is strong, even when compared to all of us.  And you are certain, Tōshirō, that he was able to injure him with just the backlash from a parry?” Jūshirō said.  

“Yes,” Tōshirō replied.  “I didn’t see it myself, but Ichigo was quite specific about that.  There was never a connection with his enemy’s blade.”

“A dangerous opponent indeed,” Byakuya commented.

“This sounds absolutely intriguing!” Mayuri added.  “Not that I really subscribe to the existence of ‘gods’ but not only are we dealing with a half god but some other being that has the type of power that can crush captains without touching them.  Fascinating!”

“I think Kisuke said it best, we are like glass to them,” Tōshirō said.  

“These guys couldn’t be that strong,” Zaraki jumped in.  “Let me take on this kid and find out for sure.”

“I’m afraid Hitsugaya’s description of Lady Alexander’s power is rather accurate,” Yamamoto countered.  “And if her opponent could even stand up to her then he must have fearsome base abilities as well.  Also, keep in mind the boy seems rather untrained.  Remember how much stronger gaining shikai made most of you?  Imagine that type of increase in this monster.”

“Teacher, how do you know Hitsugaya’s description is so accurate?” Jūshirō asked.

“It is because of I come face to face with one these Heikouiki, or Balanced One as Captain Hitsugaya called them, myself.”

The captains looked to each other anxiously, except for Kenpachi, who let out a wide grin.

“So, I see there is at least one story Old Man Yama hasn’t shared with us,” Shunsui broke the uncomfortable silence.”

“Yes, Kyōraku, there is.  But there is one question I must ask Hitsugaya before I tell it,” Genryūsai looked to Tōshirō.  “Are you certain that Miss Autumn used the name Alexandral?”

“Yes, I heard that with my own ears.  It was when she was upset.  She said Alexandral had deemed her a failure.”

“I was hoping you were mistaken…” Yamamoto trailed off.  “I will now tell you the story of how I know this name and how I have seen what these beings are capable of, first hand.  It is a story I hoped I would never have to repeat, but fate does not see it that way.  Please, save any and all questions until I have concluded.”

 

“This event took place back when I was almost a man, but still very much a boy.  And it deals with my betrothed, Akane.  She was the daughter of one of the lesser noble houses of the Seireitei and our marriage was arranged while we were just babes.  Even though that was the case, we were always very close and like all youth couldn’t wait until we were man and wife.  Akane was very much a tomboy, very strong with dual swords.  Even though my parents prided my skill, I never matched Akane. Her sword was very much as strong as her beauty, she was graced with bright red hair, deep green eyes and palest of porcelain skin. 

Akane’s father, Masahiro Ishikawa, wished her to act as a lady of noble birth, not the warrior her heart told her she wanted to be.  She was always busy studying something, be it sword technique or the intricacies of the tea ceremony.  She was very much a young lady trapped between two worlds.

This story starts with a tea ceremony, Akane was practicing before the ceremony that would be held before our wedding.  I was asked to meet with one of the Seireitei’s strongest fighters, a disciple of my master, by the name of Isamu Oshiro.  He was always well respected, although it was thought he was rather eccentric, like many great warriors are.  We were meeting just down a small hill from where Akane practiced her tea ceremony.  

He asked myself and three other boys to meet with him.  I immediately noticed that the four of us together wielded all four primal elements. I myself with fire, Masaru who could freeze his enemies with water, Cho was skilled at controlling the very battleground itself with earth and Shin who tore opponents asunder with sharp gusts of wind.

‘You should know the reason I called you here is that you are some of the strongest your generation has to offer and I would like see your skill first hand.  But first, I wish to show you something,’ Isamu told us.  He began to draw a circle on the ground, that became the base work of an elaborate symbol.  

A flash of light hit my right eye and I looked toward it, seeing Akane holding a tea cup through a window.  She had used the cup to reflect the light into my eye.  She must have been taking a break from her lessons.  She smiled at me and I returned her grin.

Something else caught my peripheral vision and I instinctively stepped back.  It seems Akane’s distraction and my own terrible studentship had saved my life.  The circle that Isamu had drawn had entranced the other three boys and he had cut them down in a single swing, their bodies falling within it.  I just narrowly avoided that swing.

‘I took on Isamu but lost handily, he was just too experienced and too strong.  I remember the burns I received from his zanpakutō took days to stop hurting even after it had appeared they had healed.  He disarmed me, forced me to the ground and prepared to strike me down, laughing manically as he prepared to attack.  He spun around just in time to parry a strike from Akane.  A fierce battle ensued.

Something I have left out up to this point was the ability of Akane’s own zanpakutōs.  She, like myself and Isamu, wielded the control of fire.  Because of this, I was always rather competitive with her but I found that day that in our previous practices she had always held back.  I was but a candle to her raging inferno.  

I remember the heat of their battle well, but in the end, the experienced Isamu fell to but a girl in an extremely restrictive ceremonial kimono.  He tumbled into the very symbol he had created.  As Akane ran to me, Isamu let out his last breath, ‘I may have failed the goddess, Jalana, but at least all of you will go with me!’

As he said that, his blood filled the markings in the ground and the circle emitted black energy into the sky.  Out of this energy, formed a massive garganta.  It opened, revealing countless hollows waiting to enter the Soul Society.

‘Run…’ she said to me.  I saw her eyes drip with tears before she lost control of her body.  Her eyes began to glow blood red with fire swirling in them.   She stood up straight and ripped her legs out of her kimono.  She turned to the mass of hallows and let out a bloodcurdling scream, ‘I am Alexandral, Warrior Queen of the Heikouiki! You dare stand against me?!’

I felt a pair of arms drag me back.  It was Akane’s father, Masahiro Ishikawa.  All of the fighters of the Seireitei gathered, but none of us could lift a finger to help her.  Her spiritual pressure was crushing even from the distance we stood.

I cannot remember how long we watched as Akane… I’m sorry,  Alexandral fought the hollows as they poured through the portal for what felt like hours.  She wasn’t just limited to fire alone, she sometimes cut them with sheer energy, crushed them with the earth, froze and boiled them with water, and diced them apart with air.  It was unlike anything I had ever seen.  It was a bloodbath.  The creatures stood no chance.  When they tried to run, this would particularly gain her ire.  She would shoot them in the back with a powerful lightning bolt.

When the hollows stopped coming, Alexandral turned to us.

‘Who’s next to stand against the Warrior Queen!’ She shouted, but she did not stay standing for long.  She fell down to the ground and I ran Akane, eyes no longer glowing.  I held her as she smiled at myself and her father.  

‘Protect them…’ she said to us as a lone tear fell from her eye.  She disappeared from my arms, only her kimono remained, stained with the blood of her enemies.  Alexandral had used up all of Akane’s reiatsu with her blood lust.  Nothing of my love remained.”

Yamamoto was visibly shaken by his story, with stray tears falling from his eyes.  Shunsui put his hand on his master’s shoulder, “She sounds like she was a great lady.  We should be celebrating her sacrifice for the Soul Society.”

“I’m afraid that wasn’t to happen, as it should have, Kyōraku” Yamamoto wiped his eyes with a cloth.  “Shortly after the incident, Central classified all information pertaining to the Heikouiki.  Akane and the life she gave to protect us, was quickly forgotten.  I only gained access to this classified information when I became Head Captain.  There are four of these beings, the Heikouiki.  There is Alexial, the eldest, who commands mastery of water.  Alexandral is the next eldest, who wields fire.  Then there are two youngest, Balandar and Balandral, who wield wind and earth respectively.”

“Are they all as bloodthirsty as Alexandral?” Unohana asked.

“No… thus why she calls herself the Warrior Queen.  My understanding is she was made this way because Alexial had a tendency to question orders, at least, as the myths go.  The other two are far more less likely to battle than the first two, but they are eager to please the gods.”

“And this Isamu said the name Jalana as he died?” Tōshirō asked.

“Yes, and it was not a name anyone was familiar with at the time.  So, as it seems, this is not the first time Jalana has attempted to destroy the Soul Society.  Five devices of unknown origin were found in his possession.  I think we can now safely say those devices were designed to remove Soul Society from existence.”

“But they must require time to start the process,” Jūshirō analyzed.  “Thus why he tried to eliminate the population of the Soul Society with hollows.”      

“Yes, that seems like a good possibility,” Yamamoto agreed.  “But we still do not know  _ why _ .”

“You’ve had these devices and you’ve never allowed me to study them?!” Mayuri barked.

“Understand Mayuri, I always had the feeling their purpose was to destroy the Soul Society.  And Central had deemed them classified as well, along with all the information I have explained today.  They would have had my head if I allowed someone to analyze the devices,” Yamamoto explained.  “But now there is no Central 46 to govern and this information is extremely relevant to the threats we face today.”

“Sir,” Suì-Fēng stood.

“Stay seated, Captain,” the Head Captain commanded. Rustling could be heard from outside the window. “Give her a few moments and then pursue only.  I want to know who she is reporting to, but I have a feeling I already know.” 

“Understood,” Suì-Fēng replied.

  
  



	6. Secrets Revealed, Love Blooms

As the stars began to shine, Autumn, Cristy and Carry parted with Rukia, Ichigo and Kon after they arrived at the Kurosaki residence.  After saying goodbyes, the trio of girls turned back toward their homes.  

“So, watcha think of that Rangiku chick, Carry?” Cristy said.  “I soooooooo want to motorboat those boobs.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty hot,” Carry laughed.

Autumn noticeably looked away from Carry.

“Something on your mind, Autumn?” Carry looked to her.

“Yes, something is,” Autumn stopped in her tracks.

“What’s up?” Carry said as she and Cristy also stopped.

“Carry, there is something I need to know.  And I think I’ve been noticing it for a long time, but I wasn’t sure.  And maybe I’m taking something the wrong way, but I need to know…”

“What is it?  Nothing’s off limits,” Carry smiled reassuringly.

“Well...I noticed today… well and on a lot of other occasions that you have been...or at least I think you have been…”

“Cous’ it’s cool, we’re all friends here.  Just go ahead and say it,” Cristy said.  “I’m sure whatever it is, it’s not going to upset her.”

“Well…” Autumn took a deep breath.  “I think I’ve been noticing you checking me out.”

“It looks like you’ve been caught…” Cristy said to Carry telepathically.

An uncomfortable silence descended on the suburban Japanese street.

“I suggest you come clean,” Cristy again said to Carry in her mind.

“Yes, I do, Autumn.  In fact, it’s hard  _ not  _ to do.  You are..well… beautiful.  And I’m, as you’re aware, bisexual, and I have a really hard time  _ not  _ looking at you.  That doesn’t make you uncomfortable, does it?  Because if it does, I’ll stop.”

“No...no… of course not...”  Autumn took an even deeper breath.  “There is something else I need to know…”

“Anything, sweetheart,” Carry had a hard time looking Autumn in the eyes.

“This has been driving me nuts all day, and I’m probably just looking for something that isn’t there and if I am, I’m sorry…”

“You’re doing it again,” Cristy chimed.

“Yeah, I am.  Okay, here it goes.  When the Mother said you had feelings for me… she just meant plutonic...right?”

“Carry, you have to tell her…” Cristy said telepathically.

“I know!” Carry responded to Cristy.

“Yes...Autumn… I do have feelings for you… I love you… I always have…” Carry said as she still couldn’t quite look Autumn in the eyes.

“Oh, Carry!” Autumn wrapped her arms around her and put her and put her chin on her shoulder.  “I’m so confused.”

Carry returned the embrace, “About what…”

“Well… because I feel the same way… I always have… I thought you might have returned my feelings but I wasn’t sure. I’m also so full of doubt. Then you put me and Jacob together and I thought I was sure I was imagining things.”

“Oh, shit,” Carry tightly shut her eyes and tears came down them.  “I’m such a fucking fool.  I’m so sorry, Autumn.”

“And now I don’t know what to do…” Autumn continued.

“Whatever you want, okay?” Carry replied.

Autumn pulled away from Carry, “Carry… we’re facing a god… and the son of one… and whatever battle we were supposed to take on in the future together is obviously less important than this or we wouldn’t be here… and we might not make it out of this alive… and… I love you…”

Autumn bent in and kissed Carry and she wrapped her arms around Autumn’s neck and returned it.  Cristy stood watching, eyes filled with silent joy and tears.

 

Ichigo bashed Isshin on the back of the head as he peeped through the blinds.

“What was that for!?” His father yelled at him.

“What do you think it was for?!” Ichigo replied.  “You were watching two teenage girls kissing!” 

“Ah… how do you know they were kissing?  You must have been watching them too…”

“I only know because I wanted to know what you were looking at!” Ichigo growled back.

“Gentlemen…” Rukia said as she glared at Ichigo and Isshin, with Karin and Yuzu by her side.

“Hi...Rukia…girls….” Isshin stumbled.

“Wait a second…” Rukia said.  She turned around and dashed up stairs.  A pounding on the floor could be heard, along with a squeaking noise and a muffled yell.   

“What’s that?” Isshin asked.

“Trust me, Dad, you don’t want to know and be glad you weren’t on the receiving end of it.”

“Do you know what’s going on, Karin?” One sister said to the other.

“Yeah, just know that all men are perverts,” Karin turned around and headed back upstairs.

“Okay…”

 

Aizen watched carefully as Tosen instructed Takehiko, Natsuki and Natsuko in the basics of being a soul reaper under dome of Los Noches.  Gin approached him from the left, smiling his usual grin and squinted eyes.

“So, the mother of this boy is a goddess,” Gin said idly, “Any chance we might catch a glimpse of this beauty?”

“That’s up to her,” Aizen replied.  “The last time she was here, it was only I who saw her.”

“So, does this change our plans?” 

“Yes, it does so very much.  Karakura is ill-relevant now.  For the new plan, it requires us to enter the Soul Society with a marginal force behind us.  Our current force will likely expire fighting the enemy on entry and we can not afford that.  So, as soon as Takehiko learns his shikai, he will be using the Hōgyoku to create a new army for us.”

“The Arrancar won’t be too thrilled about that…”

“It matters not.  Our new army will be far more powerful than they could ever dream to be.  Their loyalty after that point will be unimportant.”

“And what’s the story with the twins?” Gin asked.

“They are his half-sisters.  Jalana has given them all the ability to be both human and soul reaper all at once.  They are capable of everything we are but still within a human body.”

“Sounds like more of a problem than an asset,” Gin said.

“It has it’s uses.  They can walk amongst humans and not be forced to get out of a gigai to fight.  They act as Takehiko’s bodyguards and I have a feeling they will be rather instrumental to our plans.”

“You think we can make him a match for that blonde girl?  She was rather skilled.”

“I don’t plan on relying on Takehiko for that,” Aizen smiled. 

“I don’t know how the boy is going to feel about that…” Gin remarked.

“He won’t mind as long as he gets to deal the killing blow, which will be his.”

“Such beauty gone to waste.  She’s quite the fox.”

“You always did prefer tall blonde women…”

 

“Did anyone notice we’re a year behind,” Cristy said as the she, Carry and Autumn entered her room.

“A year behind what?” Carry asked.

“School, she means,” Autumn answered.  “We’re sophomores here.”

“It’s not like it’s permanent,” Carry said.

“I know, but it still feels like with all that work, we’re back where we started,” Cristy said.  “So… when you two going to do it… and for my follow up question, can I watch?”

“It’s not like we have a set schedule, Cristy,” Autumn said.  “Whenever it feels right.”

“Ah ha!  You didn’t say I couldn’t watch though,” Cristy pointed at her.

Autumn turned to Cristy and put on a semi-maniacal look.

“No.... Carry,” Cristy hid behind her.  “She hasn’t had this look on her face since we were kids....she’s going to tickle me… she knows where I’m ticklish!”

“I’m the wrong person to hide behind, shorty,” Carry turned around and stepped away from her.

Autumn hunched lower, massive grin on her face and stepped towards Cristy

“I can’t be held with responsible for who I kick!” Cristy leapt on to her bed and Autumn followed her.

“Where’s she ticklish?”

“The sides and the bottoms of her feet,” Autumn giggled as she pushed Cristy down on the bed and attacked her ribs.

Carry went after her feet. 

“Damn...me...for taking off my shoes…” Cristy laughed.

After the tickle fight ceased, Cristy sat up on the bed and looked toward Autumn, “I missed you.”

“What do you mean?” Autumn looked at her with one eyebrow raised.  “I haven’t gone anywhere.”

“This is the sort of stuff we did when we were kids and when Sophia wasn’t around.  I miss that you.  The happy one.”

“I’m not sure who I am anymore, Cristy,” Autumn said.  “I started to question this when I first met Carry.  I was sitting outside of the principle’s office and I realized that Alexandral wasn’t there.  She’s never around when Carry is.  And during that fight, I stepped out of the way of Susie trying to ram us.  I don’t normally do that. I don’t protect myself when it’s not really necessary.  Yet, I did it.  It made me wonder, if everything I do was just a way to fight what she wants me to be?  She told me I’m destine to be some battle-hungry slut and I’ve been trying to fight that to the point where it’s causing problems.  Last spring, when the school’s air conditioning was broken, I still insisted on wearing the thick jeans and big shirts.  One day, I found myself vomiting in the girl’s bathroom from being overheated.  Do you know how long it took me to convince the school counselor I didn’t have an eating disorder and not to call my parents?  And that’s another thing, that was the last conversation her and I ever had.  Sophia made sure to that.  The woman won’t even look at me anymore.  I can’t imagine what Sophia is doing her.”

“She threatened to tell her husband she was sleeping with one of the teachers…” Cristy said.

“How did she find that out?” Carry asked.

“Who do you think slept with that same teacher?” Cristy said.

“Don’t even think of her, Autumn, she’s not here,” Carry comforted.

“Yeah, that’s why we are hanging out at my house for the first time, well… ever.  I’m glad Mom was smart enough to not make a copy of my moronic dad and sister,” Cristy said.  “When I asked my ‘mom’ where they were, she said they were still back in Miami and left it at that.”

“Today… well I guess that was just reflex.  I’m not sure why I care what other people think… well I really never did care I just didn’t want the grief that usually goes along with me getting any sort of attention.  I’m done with that though, I’m going to be me...whoever that is…”

“How about starting with…” Carry wrapped her arms around Autumn; “being my charge… and my girlfriend…is it okay I call you that?”

“I was hoping you would,” Autumn returned the embrace.

“You two are so cute it’s almost sickening,” Cristy said.

 

“So you’ve been pretty quiet about all of this since school,” Ichigo said to Rukia as he laid back on his bed.  Rukia was at his desk, already in her Chappy the Rabbit pajamas.  

“I don’t know what to think… first I was worried Autumn could be a threat… then I got a look at the real threat…”

“That guy is a psycho.  What’s his deal?”

“And those twins… They may be as crazy as he is, but they also are incredibly incompetent.  Even with their superior spiritual energy, I was able to take them on at the same time.  They kept tripping over and falling on top of each other.  You’d think being identical twins would make them in tune with each other.  Apparently not.”

“Almost sounds like you enjoyed it,” Ichigo laughed.

“Well it’s not everyday you run into someone worse than when you started out.”

“Hey!  I wasn’t that bad!”

“You didn’t hear the best part, either.  Cristy and Carry showed up.  Carry helped me hold them off while Cristy actually controlled one to fight the other...” Rukia trailed off.

“In other words, her abilities can do what Aizen told everyone his zanpakuto could,” Ichigo said.

“It’s more than that.  She actually controlled her opponent's mind and forced their body to attack the other.  That’s not what’s got me worried… think about it… she flirts with anything that walks…”

“And?”

“Wow, you are dense, Ichigo,” Rukia shook her head.  “Don’t worry about it, just try not to find yourself alone with her.  It may be more than she can resist.”

“I’m still not following you, but okay,” Ichigo went back to his book.

Rukia took a deep breath, “Ichigo… you aren’t going to try to fight this Takehiko guy, are you?”

“No, why?” Ichigo said without looking up from his book.

“Oh… good.  You just have a tendency to when you lose a fight you want to take on that opponent again.” 

“If it’s between me taking him on again to protect someone I care about, I’ll do it.  Otherwise, he’s Autumn’s to handle.  I’m not sure if it was just Orihime being… well… Orihime, but she told me about what happened while I was knocked out.  Autumn really beat the crap out of him.”

“That’s what it looked like when I got there.  He wasn’t in good shape,” Rukia said.  “Aizen talked him down from continuing.  After they escaped it really upset Autumn.  She couldn’t control her spiritual pressure.  If Renji wouldn’t have pulled you out of there, you would have been crushed.”

“I figured it was something like that.  I definitely understand the feeling.  I wouldn’t want to be her.”

“Why so?” 

“Because, she’s gotta feel a lot of pressure.  It sounds like she’s had this being she’s a part of judging her every move.  And even if she wasn’t being judged, she’s probably judging herself.  I can’t blame her for being depressed all the time.”

“That’s really insightful,” Rukia said.  “I'm impressed. “

“Oh, come on, Ichigo, why wouldn’t you want to be her,” Kon crawled up from under Ichigo’s bed.  “Think about, you’d be what, most of a foot taller, all that crazy power and have large, luscious melons…”

“No, thanks,” Ichigo returned his attention to the textbook once again.

“How about you, Rukia?  Would you want…” 

Rukia stood above Kon, glaring.

“I think I’ll go back under the bed…Forget I said anything...”

“There must be something in the air of this house that makes the males so dense,” Rukia sighed.

  
  
  



	7. Uneasiness Mounts, Shadows Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tatsuki learns more than just combat moves when Cristy challenges her to spar.

In the girls gym class, Autumn, Cristy and Carry were exiting the locker room and heading out to the school yard to join the rest of the class.

“Holy shit, Carry,” Cristy gasped.  “Autumn is in really short shorts and she is smiling… Should we call Lucifer and ask him if his furnace is functional?”

“I’m sure that twit’s furnace is working just fine, Cristy,” Autumn continued to smile.  “I told you, that was the old me.  I don’t mind this outfit…  I actually very much like my legs.  I’ve worked hard to make sure they are strong.”

“And I don’t mind the view,” Carry flirted.

“And you need to totally start smiling at Kiego, his head might explode and I’m up for a good show,” Cristy laughed.

“On a serious note, Carry, please don’t over do it out here, it’s still sort of warm,” Autumn warned. “I worry about you.”

“It’s my job to worry about you,” Carry countered.

“That means when we run, please don’t try to keep up with me.  I know you will.  This is the first time I’ve even been allowed to exercise with the whole class and I’m sorta excited.”

After stretching, the girls’ gym class started their laps around the track.

“Abbey, don’t over do it!” the female gym teacher yelled as she watched Carry run.  

Carry rolled her eyes as she attempted to keep up with Autumn.  Tatsuki was right beside her, with Autumn in front.  Both of them ran as fast they could, but they simply couldn’t keep up with her.  Carry began to sweat profusely.  The sun beated down on her and she could feel weight falling on her chest, making it harder to breath.  She continued to run, ignoring the signs her body was giving her.

Autumn glanced back and immediately noticed the state Carry was in.  She left Tatsuki pass her and let Carry catch up.

“Why did...you stop?” Carry said.  She put hands on her knees.

“Look at you...please stop…” Autumn said.

“How am I to…” Carry stumbled.

“Damn it, Abbey, I told you to take it easy.  Get inside and cool off,” the gym teacher yelled through her microphone.  

Autumn took Carry’s chin in her hand, “Carry, I need you to take it easy.  I know you want to protect me, but you can’t if you have a heart attack.”

“Okay…” Carry sighed.  

 

It was a track and field day in gym class.  Autumn was ahead of the rest of the girls in every event, with Cristy lagging behind.  Carry found herself always coming close to Tatsuki’s performance in each event.  As each event went by, Tatsuki was being more and more irritated.  

After the class was over, the girls began to pile into the locker room.  Tatsuki glared at Autumn as she passed her.  After showering and dressing, Autumn, Cristy and Carry headed to their next class.

“Is it just me, or does it seem like Tatsuki doesn’t like me very much?” Autumn said.

“I’m sure it’s just because she looks like the competitive type,” Cristy said.   “and you… are well… pretty unstoppable.  I’ll have a talk with her.  You know I have a way with people…”

“Especially hot little numbers like her,” Carry smirked.

“Hey, I haven’t groped Orihime yet, so I think I’ve been pretty good since we got here…”

“She’s got you there, Carry.  I’ve been quite proud of her.  I was certain Orihime would be too much for her to resist.”  

 

Rukia looked out of the classroom window as the teacher droned on.  She could feel nothing out of the ordinary.  She wasn’t sure if she was just getting used to Autumn’s presence or if Autumn was just becoming more aware of it and keeping it hidden.  Everything it was quiet and it left her with an unsettling feeling.

She surveyed the class and saw Ichigo to her left, focusing on the lesson.  Orihime, Tatsuki and Uryū were in the front of the class.  

After class, Tatsuki approached Ichigo.

“Ichigo, can you do me a favor.  I’ve been sort of worried about Orihime.  It just seems like things have been getting dangerous around town and it might be best if someone walks her home.  I’d do it myself, but I have something to do.”

“Karate class?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Is something wrong, Tatsuki?” Orihime said as she approached.

“No, I’m okay.”

“You’ve been acting weird since gym class, are you okay?” Orihime said. 

“I’m fine, really.  Just why don’t you let Ichigo and Rukia walk you home, I still think something happened after school yesterday you aren’t telling me about.”

“I saw Inoue after school, she was fine,” Uryū added in.

“Yeah, everything is fine, Tatsuki.  You go do what you need to do.  I’ll see you later!” Orihime said.  

Tatsuki left the classroom.  Ichigo looked to Orihime, “Ready to go?”

“Yep!” Orihime nodded.  

 

Cristy, Autumn and Carry enjoyed the shade of a tree on the far end of the school’s property.  Carry sat up against the trunk of the tree and Autumn laid her head on her lap.  Cristy was next to Carry, mentally scanning the school to see who was left around.

“I think I’m going to go see who I can play with.  You guys need some alone time.  Figure out the whole ‘relationship’ thing,” Cristy said.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea,” Autumn said.  “I worry about Takehiko…”

“I’ll be fine.  Anyway, I can call for you guys if I need you.  You really should spend time by yourselves.”

“If you are sure,” Carry said. 

Cristy stood up, dusted herself off and took off without another word.

“I don’t think we’ve been alone together since you spent the night at my house after my first date with Jacob,” Autumn said.

“Yeah… about that night…” Carry said.  “Autumn, there is something I haven’t told you about.”

“It’s okay, you can tell me anything.  And if you have any questions for me, you will get one hundred percent honesty from me.”

“Well… when I stayed with you, you woke up in the middle of night, with your eyes glowing.”

“Alexandral?” Autumn said almost in a panicked tone. 

“No… your eyes didn’t change color, they just glew.  You sat up in bed and seemed really confused.  You realized you were with me and you kissed me.”

“I don’t remember that…  I didn’t force myself on you, did I?”

“No, sweetheart, that’s not even possible.  You acted like we were together.  And you did it again in Youngstown, I woke up with you on top of me… and… you were naked….”

“Wow…”

“I touched on your shoulder, where you had that wound and the pain seemed to remind you where you were and you apologized, dressed and went back to bed.”

“...I’m not even sure what to say… I don’t even remember our first kiss… and it was right after I kissed Jacob… if that doesn’t make one feel like a whore, I don’t know what does.”

“You are no whore,” Carry said.

“I’ll believe that,” Autumn looked up at Carry.  “But I am your little concubine…who is rather upset you haven’t taken full advantage of her yet...” 

“I never know what you are going to say next,” Carry said.

“Neither do I,” Autumn laughed as she put her hand on Carry’s cheek.  “Carry, I know it’s driving you nuts.  You’re holding yourself back, because you don’t want me to feel rushed.  I’m yours: mind and body… I’d offer my soul to you, but it’s not mine to give…” She began to cry and Carry leaned down and wrapped her arms around her.   

 

The pounding of a punching back could be heard as Cristy meandered into the gym.  She found Tatsuki in her gym clothes pounding on the inanimate object relentlessly.  She approached her.

“You look upset,” Cristy said simply.

“I’m fine,” Tatsuki said without looking at her.

“Let’s just say I have a good sense about people and I know what it’s pissing you off.  It’s my cousin.”

“Your cousin didn’t do anything…”

“Except bruise your ego.”

Tatsuki said nothing but did sigh as she delivered a spinning kick to the punching back.

“I’m sure you’d be happier fighting someone who could fight back.”

“I don’t see any opponents around…” Tatsuki said, still concentrating on the bag.

Cristy rolled her eyes and smiled, “So, what does that make me?  Too cute to punch?” 

Tatsuki turned to Cristy, “You fight?”

“Yep,” she nodded.  “I know you probably assumed I’m too self absorbed to get down and dirty.  Trust me, I’m not afraid to break a nail or two.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to judge a book by it’s cover.  You’re right, I figured you were too pretty to be tough.”

“Well, you’re tough and pretty, so…”

“You wanna spar, or what?” Tatsuki said.  “I’m just warning you, I don’t take it easy on anyone.”

“Sure, sure,” Cristy said as she took her leather jacket off and tossed it off to the side.  

“What do you practice?”

“A mix of stuff, really.  I’m not sure what all my style comprises of.  Autumn’s father taught my sister and I.  He never really gave the style a name.  I know it’s got some standard karate and taekwondo in there.”

“Sounds interesting,” Tatsuki said.  “You sure you're ready for me, blondie?”

Cristy lifted her fists as well, “Sure, coming right at ya!”

  
Ichigo, Rukia and Orihime continued to walk to Orihime’s house.  Rukia’s Denreishinki rang, and she flipped it open.  

“Ichigo, we have a hollow,” Rukia said.  “Captain Hitsugaya has delegated its handling to us.”

“I’ll take care of it, you guys go on ahead,” Ichigo said.

“Be careful, Ichigo.  We have no idea if this has something to with Aizen,” Rukia warned.

“It will be fine.  I’m sure it’s just a regular hollow,” Ichigo said as he ran off.

“Is he going to be okay, Rukia?”  Orihime said.  “He’s been sort of off, lately.”

“I’ve noticed it too, especially when he’s fighting,” Rukia nodded.  “I just wish he’d accept some help for once.”

“He just won’t let anyone in…” Orihime lamented. 

 

Cristy and Tatsuki lied on the mat on the gym floor, sides heaving.

“Wow, I really didn’t think you were  _ that _ good,” Tatsuki said.

“Yeah, you’re pretty damn good too.  Last person I fought was my sister and, well, she sucks these days.  Too busy ruling the school to make Autumn’s life miserable to keep up her fighting skills.”

“To make Autumn miserable?  Why would she do that to family?”

“She’s a cunt, I don’t know.  She’s always been jealous of Autumn but as soon as Autumn moved the same town, she really went crazy.  If it looked like Autumn was showing off today, I’m sure she couldn’t resist.  This is the first time she’s got to do stuff with the rest of the gym class in a long time.”

“What do you mean?  Why would the teachers do that to her?”

“In that case, it’s just a matter that the other girls refuse to exercise with her.  Otherwise, it’s different reasons.  Blackmail, sleeping with professors or just good old fashion manipulation.  She has control over the extra-curricular budget as student council president.  The girl’s basketball coach has always wanted to Autumn to play.  Yet, if she wants her team to keep its budget, she’ll keep Autumn off it.” 

“That’s… sick… I feel terrible. I’ll have to apologize for giving her those dirty looks. She didn’t deserve me being mean to her.   She must feel so much better to be away from that.”

“Yeah, took her a bit to adapt.  If you noticed yesterday, she was pretty uncomfortable.”

“She almost seemed like a different person today.”

“Yeah, that also has a lot to do with Carry too.  Carry finally admitted her feelings for Autumn.  Autumn actually had the same feelings.  I’m great at reading people and even I wasn’t sure how she felt.”

“I wish I could read people like that.  I can’t figure out what’s going on with my friends, lately.  Especially, Orihime.  It seems she hiding things lately.  We’ve known each other most of our lives and she’s never hid things from me.  It’s worrisome.”

“Well…”

“You know something, don’t you!”

“I’m great with people but I suck at lying…”

“Please, Cristy… if you know something, I need to know.”

“Ah...shit.  Me and big fucking mouth,” Cristy stood up.  She looked around.  “Get changed and follow me and I’ll show you.  I know someone is not going to be happy about me telling you this shit but I think it’s been hid from you for long enough.”

 

Cristy and Tatsuki headed for downtown Karakura at a breakneck pace.  Night was starting to fall and the city was waking up.  Lights began to emit their urban glow.  Cristy kept her eyes to the sky and scanning the area with her mental abilities to find her query.  

“Why are we running?” 

“Because it’s something you need to see first hand,” Cristy explained.  

“Anyone ever tell you that you are really fast for someone so short.  Where was this speed during gym class?”

“I only run when necessary,” Cristy said as she slid to a stop.  “Look up there… in the sky… do you see anything?”

“Yes, I do… but it’s sort of blurry.  I see something black… and something else white… and a lot of movement.   But I can’t tell what’s going on.”

Cristy took Tatsuki’s hand.  She immediately found herself blushing.  

“What do you see now?”

“Did I get shorter?  But it’s… Ichigo!  Is he… walking on air?  And fighting some sort of monster?”

“You are seeing through my eyes.  The monster you seeing is called a hollow.”

“And...the sword… and black kimono...  what’s going on with Ichigo… he looks like he’s having trouble…”

“Yeah, Autumn said Ichigo is having problems with his powers right now.  Ichigo has become a soul reaper.”

“So, our friends are fighting these monsters… Is Orihime is fighting these monsters?!”

“Yeah, but she’s not a soul reaper.  She has her own powers.  I’m sure she wanted to protect you from all of thus the secrecy.”

Cristy let go of Tatsuki’s hand.  Tatsuki looked up to the sky and could see Ichigo fighting the hollow.   
“Can we help him?” Tatsuki said.  

“I can, but you can’t.  But, we better stay out of this,” Cristy said.  “He’ll be fine.  Come on, let’s go.”

Cristy grabbed Tatsuki by the wrist and found herself blushing again.  

“Are you okay?” Tatsuki said.

“Yeah, fine, let’s go.  One more stop…”

 

Cristy led Tatsuki to Urahara’s shop, as she explained what she understood about Rukia, the Soul Society, Aizen’s insurrection and Jalana. She did this all while trying to avoid eye contact with Tatsuki.   Once they arrived, the man himself was awaiting them on the stoop, along with Yoruichi..

“I thought I noticed a couple lovely young ladies heading to my shop.  What can I do for you?”

“So you are Kisuke Urahara…” Tatsuki said.

“Can you help Tatsuki find a way to fight alongside of us?” Cristy said.

“I think I have some ideas,” Kisuke said.  “Although, it will require me to break a promise to dear Miss Inoue.”

“What kind of promise?” Tatsuki said.

“I promised her I’d keep you out of this mess, but being your at my door, it’s really too late for that.”

“What do you have in mind,” Yoruichi spoke up.

“I think this young lady would be a good candidate to become a soul reaper,” Kisuke said.

“Like Ichigo?” Tatsuki said.

“I hope not exactly like Ichigo…” Yoruichi glared at Kisuke.

“We had to rush with Ichigo, thus his current ‘problems’.  Now, we have far more time to work with.  We can take a more ‘traditional’ route.  I can’t promise there won’t be risk, but not on the level Ichigo faced.”

“If Ichigo can do it, so can I,” Tatsuki said.  “I’ll do anything to help my friends.”

“That’s what I like to hear.  If you step inside, we can begin the process immediately,” Kisuke opened the door.

“I better get going,” Cristy said, still trying to avoid looking Tatsuki in the eyes.  “You are in good hands…” Cristy glared directly at Kisuke.  “...better than Rukia was in, I hope…”

“Yes, of course!” Kisuke countered.

“I’ll be here helping her train,” Yoruichi said.  “I hope you are ready for some hard work, Tatsuki.”

“I’m not afraid of hard work, ma’am,” Tatsuki turned to Cristy.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, at school, Cristy.  Oh… and thanks.”

“No problem,” Cristy said, still not looking Tatsuki in the eyes.  She turned and left the front of the shop.   

  
  



	8. Love's Grasp, Depression's Grip

A few hours earlier, Autumn and Carry walked back home, hand in hand. Autumn kept looking at Carry and smiling.   
“You’re up to something…” Carry grinned.  
“Me… nope, nothing at all. Let’s go to my house,” she smiled.   
“Yeah, you’re totally up to something,” Carry shook her head.  
They entered Autumn’s home and her fake parents were nowhere to be found. Autumn began to led Carry up to her room.  
“Sure,” Carry laughed. “You aren’t up to anything at all.”  
Autumn opened the door for Carry and she entered ahead of her. Carry entered the room and found the room littered with candles, none of which have been lit.  
Carry turned to Autumn, “So, you aren’t up to anything, huh.”  
Autumn let out a flirty grin. She pulled off her uniform coat and tossed it off to the side. She snapped her fingers and all the candles in the room.  
“I told me myself when I got you up here, I wouldn’t do this,” Autumn untied her tie. “You know, undress myself in front of you…” She began to unbutton her shirt slowly as she sauntered closer, “It’s funny, I have no idea where this bra came from… or the panties that match them….” she referenced the bra she was revealing as she undid her buttons and the panties that peeked out from above her skirt’s waistband.   
“But… I’ve noticed the bra you’re wearing, the black one that your shirt won’t hide… it’s been driving me nuts all day… reminds me of when we were at the dojo in the locker room… I helped you take off your bra and I wanted to tackle you right then and there... I don’t mean to push you or rush you,” she stopped dead in her tracks only a few feet from Carry. “I did hope you would be the aggressive one… I can’t wait anymore… It’s just been driving me crazy… not just these last two days… but ever since I laid eyes on you. I won’t come any closer… the pheromone… I don’t know how strong mine is… but I don’t want it clouding your judgement...”   
“I was just holding back because I didn’t want to rush you… and there is no clouding my judgement about this…” Carry leapt at Autumn and embraced her with an aggressive kiss.   
“My turn to take your bra off,” Carry said as she unsnapped the back of Autumn’s white, lacey bra. Autumn let the bra slide to the floor. She looked down at her nude breasts and blushed a little.  
“Well that’s not fair… yours are so much nicer,” Autumn said as she unsnapped Carry’s bra and slid it off Carry’s shoulders.  
Their eyes met and Autumn’s embarrassment outweighed her lust and she began to blush.  
“I… just can’t believe we’re about to do this…” she said.  
“We don’t have to, love. If you’ve changed your mind, it’s okay.”  
“No, never… I’ve been waiting for so long… I can’t stand another moment… just the act of kissing you sets me ablaze..”  
“I’m not sure you can even fathom what it does to me… we share more than just love, Autumn. We have a link. It’s a link a Tala’har has with their charge… it’s just stronger for you and I. I can feel your emotions ...your love … your sadness ...all of it…”  
“I guess it’s only one way, huh?”  
“I’m afraid so. Now, let’s talk about that later. I’m more interested in other things.”  
“Yes, my dark mistress, I only live to please you,” Autumn grinned.  
“It didn’t take you long for you to learn how to turn me on,” Carry smiled as she playfully pushed Autumn on to the bed and leapt on top of her and locked lips, her hands roaming Autumn’s semi-nude body. Autumn wrapped her arms around her and hesitantly began to move her hands toward Carry’s breasts, but Carry took one of her hands and moved them directly to Autumn’s desired destination.   
“You can touch me where ever you want,” Carry reassured.

 

Cristy’s hand shook as she held a cigarette between her fingers. She sat on a park bench in the middle of Karakura with her legs crossed. The occasional tear fell from her eye.  
“Aren’t you a little young to smoke?” a familiar male voice said from behind.  
Cristy turned to see Ichigo, still out of his body in his soul reaper gear, standing over her.  
“Yeah, but tonight I don’t give a crap. I kicked the habit a little under three years ago and I’m here, doing it again. I’m fucking pathetic.”  
“Something wrong?” Ichigo said as he sat down next to Cristy.  
“You could say that.”  
“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”  
“Not on your strawberry hair,” Cristy replied.  
Ichigo sighed, “This is the first time I’ve seen you without your friends.”  
“We’ve been joined at the hip lately, especially Carry and me. I figured they needed the evening to themselves, to figure out the whole relationship thing.”  
“Don’t know much about that sort of thing.”  
“You need to learn. Even only knowing you for two days, it doesn’t take a mind reader to see that you and…”  
“Hey, Ichigo!” Rukia called as she came running up to them. “Everything go okay with the hollow?”  
“Yeah, it’s fine…” Ichigo trailed off.  
“He’s lying.” Cristy said as she took a puff on her cigarette.  
“Well, Ichigo, we have to get going…” Rukia grabbed him by the wrist.  
“What are you talking about?” Ichigo replied as Rukia began to drag Ichigo away.  
“See you later,” Rukia waved to Cristy with her free hand as she drug Ichigo out of the scene.  
“Rukia, Rukia, Rukia,” Cristy said as she watched the pair disappear. 

“So what sort of training are we going to do? Should I change into my gi? I actually have it with me today,” Tatsuki said to Kisuke and Yoruichi.  
“No need,” Kisuke smiled as he lifted Benihime and poked Tatsuki in the head with the cane end.  
He pushed Tatsuki out of her body. Yorukichi caught her body as it fell to the floor. Yoruichi rolled her eyes. “You’ll give her some warning next time, won’t you, Kisuke.”  
“Yeah, sorry about that. There is a rather demented side of me that enjoys seeing a human’s shocked look the first time they leave their body.”  
“I would like some warning next time,” Tatsuki said as she crossed her arms. “So, what’s with the chain?”  
“That’s your soul chain. Normally, when a soul’s chain breaks, their body dies and they pass on to the other side. It’s longer than it looks and tough too and as long as it’s not directly attacked by a hollow, you have little worry of it getting severed.”  
“Okay, now what?” Tatsuki said.  
“Try moving around,” Kisuke said.  
Tatsuki moved around but found it very difficult, her every movement took far more effort than she was used to.  
“Your soul will need to get used to being out of it’s body. Ichigo went through this same training and but he worked with Ururu, you’ll be training with Yoruichi.”  
“What sort of training?” Tatsuki raised an eyebrow.  
“I’ll attempt to attack you and you’ll need to dodge me. Understand if I can hit you, I will. Fear is essential to getting your soul to do as you want it to.”  
“Ready,” Tatsuki said. “Don’t go easy on me. If Ichigo did this, so can I!”  
“I should mention that Ichigo’s opponent was a little girl. A rather powerful one, but still a little girl none the less. Yoruichi, on the hand, is a former soul reaper captain.”  
“Good. It’s best you go tougher on me. I don’t take the easy way out… ever.”

 

Autumn spooned Carry as they lay on her bed naked. The sun had long since set and the room was nearly pitch dark.   
“So… was I… okay?” Autumn asked.  
“You were wonderful,” Carry turned to her and smiled.   
“Maybe one day when we aren’t so… eager… you can teach me. I want to know how to make you feel good. You just seem so good at it… I’ve never felt satisfied before… ever. Until now.”  
“Well the link we share is sort of gives a clue to what feels best when I’m trying things,” Carry said.  
“Carry… while I was having problems with my hormones… the link was active, wasn’t it?”  
“Yeah… until they took you from my house. My mom forced me to wear this ring that protected me from the link.”  
“I hope it wasn’t too much of a bother…”  
“It made it harder to keep my feelings from you. Everyone seemed to be worried that you might react badly and distance yourself if I told you how I felt.”  
“That’s more my fault than anything. No one really knows me. The person they see isn’t exactly the person I am and I’m not even sure who that is.”  
“Well, that’s behind us now. I’ll be here to help you figure out who you are. You can talk to me about anything. I’ll never judge you, I promise.”  
“Thanks,” Autumn smiled gently. “That’s the same for you. You don’t have to keep any secrets from me anymore. I know you smoke weed and that you and Cristy have done it.”  
“How did you know about that stuff?”  
“Well, the fact that you and Cristy have done it is more of a guess you just confirmed. Don’t worry, I’m not jealous. It wouldn’t even bother me if you did it with her again.”  
“You seemed sort of jealous of what I said about Rangiku…”  
“Well I was being silly and I was worried maybe you liked someone outgoing like her more than you like me. It’s weird… I’ve got jealous about Jacob… but I guess I know and have really always known that you love me and there is nothing that will ever get between us.”  
“And what about the weed thing? What gave it away?”  
“Your behavior that night when Jacob came over your house. I never noticed that from you before, or even after. Was something wrong that night?”  
“I was just having a hard time dealing with everything, that’s all. How I felt about you, not telling you about the whole Tala’har thing and my worries about that spellbook of yours. I just needed an escape. I promise it won’t happen again.”  
“You don’t have to make that promise. I can’t say I haven’t been tempted myself. There are times I’ve really wanted to escape reality. I always hoped it will dull my longings and help me ignore Alexandral.”  
“Trust me, it doesn’t make you any less horny, but I can’t say what it would do with Alexandral.”  
Autumn took a deep breath, “Carry, I really don’t want to be away from you. Every moment we’re not close I worry. If Takehiko were to hurt you…”  
Carry put on finger on Autumn’s mouth, “Sweetheart, it’s my job to protect you. You don’t need to worry about me.”  
“But you saw what he did to Ichigo,” Autumn pushed Carry’s finger away. “And… I don’t want to be away from you, I want you to be close… just let me know if I’m smothering you. I was thinking you and Cristy could come stay here. It would make me feel better if both of you were in arm’s reach.”   
“First of all, you could never smother me. That’s many Kar’kel’s complaint about their Tala’har, that they smother them. So just hearing you worrying about smothering me actually makes me really happy. I hope it means you aren’t going to get sick of me. As for staying here, is there room?”  
“I was thinking you could share this room with me and Cristy could have the spare room. I doubt my fake parents will care.”  
“Sounds like a great idea,” Carry wrapped her arms Autumn’s neck and gave her a kiss.

Tatsuki put her hands on her knees and heaved when Kisuke called for an end of the training. She looked up and Yoruichi smiled at her.   
“You’re very good,” Yoruichi said. “Far better than the average soul reaper. If we had more like you in the Soul Society, Aizen wouldn’t stand a chance.”  
“Thanks,” Tatsuki said as she finally stood up straight. “What next?”   
“You, young lady, are going to go home to get some rest. No need to push it so hard, we aren’t in the same hurry Ichigo was to save Rukia,” Kisuke said. “All that is left, is to give you this.”  
Kisuke held up a katana to Tatsuki. She took it in her hands and examined it closely.  
“I assume this isn’t a normal sword.”  
“Nope, it’s a asauchi,” Kisuke said. “A special one, at that. These are the swords the rank and file soul reapers use, which eventually become zanpakuto. I’ve modified this one to help you become a soul reaper. You’ll hold on to it for the next few days, imprint your essence on it.”  
“And then what?” Yoruichi let out a critical look.  
“Remember when I said there would be danger to the process, this is where that danger comes in. It won’t be the same sort of danger Ichigo faced. You will hold on to that weapons for the next few days and bond with it. In that time, Yoruichi and I will teach you to use a sword. Once we’re confident that you and the weapon are bonded, you’ll use it to cut your soul chain.”  
“Cut… my soul chain…won’t that kill me?” Tatsuki exclaimed.  
“In a normal circumstance, yes. But if you bond with the asauchi, your soul will become that of a soul reaper’s. Your body should take the hint you aren’t passing on and remain alive as well.”  
“And the danger?” Tatsuki said.  
“The danger to it is that if you aren’t well enough bonded with the sword, or you just aren’t strong enough, you could die. It’s one of the three possibilities. The first one, is like I said, you die. The second, you can’t cut the chain, meaning your spiritual energy isn’t strong enough and you simply can’t become a soul reaper. The third is that you succeed and become a soul reaper.”  
“And how am I to keep this with me all the time?” Tatsuki asked.  
“It’s not a material weapon,” Kisuke said. “You can take back into your body with you.”  
“And that being said, we should be going,” Yoruichi said. “I’ll escort you back home. It’s best you don’t travel alone while you train. Your soul is getting strong and hollows will notice, making you a target. I’ll be taking you back and forth from training but otherwise, it’s best you remain close to one of your spiritually strong friends, like Orihime, Cristy or Ichigo.”  
“I don’t like the idea of anyone protecting me, but I understand. Let’s go.”  
Yoruichi helped Tatsuki into her body and they left the underground training area. Tessai appeared from behind Kisuke.   
“What do you think of her?” Kisuke asked.  
“She’s good, better than I expected. She adapted to the spiritual body far faster than Ichigo did.”  
“She’s a quick learner, no doubt about that,” Kisuke said. “If it was up to me, I would have trained her in the first place and sent her with the others into the Soul Society to save Rukia. Yet, you know me about promises, hate breaking them.”  
“It’s a trait you seem to live by.”


	9. Ominous Dream, Future Tidings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tatsuki has a terrible dream.

Tatsuki found herself on the streets of Karakura.  She examined her clothing and found herself in the same sort of outfit she had seen Ichigo in while fighting the hollow.  Movement caused her to glance upward, and caught the sight of a young woman on top of a tall building, near the ledge.  She ran as fast as she could through the building’s doors and up the stairs until she came to the roof door.  She burst through the door the find that the girl on the ledge was Cristy.  She turned and looked at Tatsuki with tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry… I just can’t do this again…” she muttered and hung one foot over the ledge.

“No!” Tatsuki screamed, but she realized she was no longer on top of the roof, but lying in her bed with the alarm blaring.  She looked at the clock on it as she shut it off to find it had been ringing for ten minutes.  The t-shirt she had been sleeping in was soaked in sweat.

“That was.. Intense…” she muttered to herself.

 

Carry left Autumn’s home the next morning with her at her side.  Carry stared at Cristy’s home and and then her surroundings.

“Where’s the midget?  I don’t know how good I am with spiritual sight, but it doesn’t look like she’s home.”

“She’s not… and if I’m right she’s already at school.  I figured she just wanted to give us some alone time and that’s what it seemed like yesterday, but I’m not so sure now.  If I’m reading this right, it doesn’t seem like she’s in a good state of mind.”

“You can tell that from here?” 

“Yeah, I think.  I’m worried, we better get to school and see what’s wrong.”

 

Autumn and Carry rushed to school and Ichigo and Rukia watched them run by.

“I wonder what they are in a hurry for?” Rukia said.

“Dunno.  Might have something to do with Cristy, she’s not with them again.  And something was definitely wrong last night.”

“Something was?  I didn’t notice.”

“You were too busy dragging me away to notice anything.  She seemed depressed.  She seems like my Dad, only smokes when they are depressed.”

Rukia sighed, “Now I really feel bad.  Let’s go Ichigo, I should apologize.”

 

Autumn and Carry arrived at school, finding Orihime in the same place they encountered her on the first day.  She once again let out a wide grin and waved enthusiastically. 

“Hi guys,” she approached. “Is something wrong with Cristy?”

“That’s what we want to know,” Carry answered.  “Why?  Was she acting strange?”

“Yeah, she hardly looked at me when she passed, just sort of waved her hand and kept going.  She also smelled terrible.”

“Terrible how?” Autumn asked.

“I think it was cigarette smoke,” Orihime said.  “Yuck, I didn’t think she smoked.”

“She doesn’t… not anymore at least…” Autumn said.  “It seemed like she started when she lost someone very important to her.  She eventually kicked the habit but it seems she’s at it again.”

“I should kick her ass, the last thing she needs is cancer,” Carry said.

“This isn’t good.  I hope it isn’t Carry and I’s relationship that’s bothering her.  We haven’t exactly been discreet and it’s easy to forget she’s probably very lonely,” Autumn stated.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Carry said.  “It’s always something she pushed for but I suppose we are a living reminder of what she lost.”

“Is there something we can do to help her?” Orihime said.  

“I’m not sure, Orihime,” Autumn said.  “The last time this happen she shut everyone out and just mindlessly followed her sister around.  It took her almost three years to snap out of it.”

“We better go find her,” Carry nodded.

Tatsuki appeared from behind, “Hey everyone.”

“Hi Tatsuki!” Orihime smiled.  

“Hey Autumn, can we talk in private?” Tatsuki said.

“Oh, sure.  Carry, can you go find Cristy.   I’m really starting to worry.”

“Yeah, I’m on it,” Carry nodded as she headed into the school.

“I’ll see you guys in class!” Orihime said as she followed Carry.

“So, you wanted to talk to me?” Autumn said.

“Yeah… I’m sorry about yesterday.  I’m sure you noticed I was being a real jerk,” Tatsuki said with shame washing over her face.

“It’s fine.  I was showing off and I know better than that.”

“Cristy told me how you never got to exercise with the class at your old school.  I don’t blame you for spreading your wings.”

“I’ll try not to be such a show off from now on.”

“Hey, I was the one being nasty, you shouldn’t have to change on my behalf.  It just gives me something to work for.  Also… that wasn’t all Cristy told me about…”

“Does that have anything to do with why your spiritual energy is stronger than it was yesterday?”

“Wow… I actually got stronger?  But yes, I’m working with Mr. Urahara and Lady Shehoen.  I know all about who you are, where you come from and this mess my friends are caught up in.”

“It’s about time.  I always felt leaving you out was a mistake.  You’re strong and it’s not fair that they don’t allow you to fight at their side.”

“Oh.. you said you were worried about Cristy.  She started acting strangely last night when she was with me.”

“What happened?” Autumn asked.

“Well,” Tatsuki leaned close.  “She took me to show me Ichigo fighting a hollow.  She held my hand to show me what she saw through her eyes… and after that she refused to look me in the eye.  Some people might not notice something like that, but being a fighter, eye contact is always something you check for.  What do you think could be wrong?  I was worried she might have accidently read my mind and saw something that upset her.”

“No… I don’t think that’s it… I have an idea, but I won’t share it until I’m sure.  I better get going.  This might not be something Cristy isn’t willing to devolve to Carry and I don’t think it’s a good idea to push her too hard.”

“Autumn…”

“Yes?”

“...nevermind, it’s nothing.”

“Oh, okay.  See you in class, then,” Autumn said as she turned and entered the building.      

 

“Rukia?” Cristy approached her minutes before class started, just as she entered the classroom.  “Can I talk to you… in private, not now, of course.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Rukia nodded.  “Is everything okay?  Ichigo got the idea you were upset last night.”

“I’m fine,” Cristy lied.  “I just really need to talk to you.”

“Okay, we can talk during free period,” Rukia said.

“Good, see you then.”

Cristy turned to find Carry sitting in her seat.  Cristy sat down at her desk and Carry stood over her.

“What’s wrong?” Carry asked.

“Nothing, what makes you think something is wrong?” Cristy said.

“Let’s see, first we haven’t heard from you since yesterday afternoon, which is odd, considering how interested in finding out if Autumn and I had done it yet.  Then you leave for school without us...”

“I wanted to get here early, that’s all,” Cristy interrupted.  

Carry lowered her voice, “Well, Autumn said she could sense that something was up before we even got here. And if nothing was wrong, you would have replied to me with ‘so, did you?”.   And let us not forget you’re a terrible liar.”

“Where is Autumn?” Cristy said.

Carry sighed loudly, “Last I saw, Tatsuki want to talk to her.”

“Oh… Tatsuki…” Cristy trailed off.

“That’s enough, Carry,” Autumn appeared behind her.  “If Cristy doesn’t want to talk about it, we shouldn’t push her.”

“I know but…”

“Come on, love, let’s sit down for class.  We already have enough people staring at us.” 

 

Later that morning, in a girl’s bathroom on the far end of the school, Cristy followed Rukia through the door.

“So, you wanted to talk?” Rukia turned to her.

“Yes… It doesn’t take a mind reader to know why you dragged Ichigo away last night,” Cristy said.

“Well… I…” Rukia stuttered.

“And I want you to know I’d never make anyone sleep with me.  It would be underhanded and I enjoy the chase too much.”

“Oh.”

“And I know no matter what I say, you probably won’t trust me.  I can’t blame you.  Zeus tried to destroy the entire race of humans I’m apart of because of telepaths like me.  We’re dangerous.  He tried using some sort of collar to get me do his bidding just a few days ago.”

“Cristy, I didn’t mean for you to insult you like that.  With Ichigo, I’m just…”

“Protective, I know.  We should always protective with those we care about.  Those we love.  I consider it a sin to ignore that responsibility and I’ve done it.  I did it with Autumn.  I watched my sister torture her for the last 3 years and did nothing about it.  You haven’t hurt me.  I just wanted you to know that you don’t need to protect him from me.”

Rukia was silent and was having a hard time looking at Cristy.

“Rukia, I haven’t been reading your mind but I know how you feel about him.  You need to tell him.  If you don’t, one of you might not be here tomorrow.  Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, especially because we’re fighting a god.  That Takehiko guy could show up at any moment and wipe us out and there isn’t a lot either of us could do about it.”

“Ichigo knows exactly how I feel about him…” 

“Yeah and monkeys will fly out of my butt,” Cristy rolled her eyes.  

“And if you are afraid of rejection, don’t be.  I’ve seen how he looks at you.  That’s all I need to see.  And if you are afraid of hurting Orihime, you can’t be.  She’ll survive.  He doesn’t feel that way about her, I can tell.  Not the way he feels about you.”

“Well… I…” Rukia failed to find words.

“Just think about what I’ve said today.  Don’t end up like me… alone and afraid…”

Cristy began to cry as she turned around and left the bathroom.  Rukia stood motionless as she watched Cristy leave.

“So, would you like to explain to me why you stopped me from finding out what’s up with her?” Carry put her back against the fence that surrounded the roof of the school.  

“Because, I think I might know what it is wrong and pushing her is probably a bad idea right now,” Autumn said.  “Tatsuki said she was acting strange after take her hand and letting her see through her eyes to show her Ichigo fighting a hollow.  After that, Cristy wouldn’t look her in the eyes.”

“You don’t think she’s…”

“Yeah, I think she’s in love with Tatsuki.  And it probably scares her.  It makes sense.  She’s smoking, which she hasn’t done since she lost  _ him _ .”

“She never mentioned that to me.”

“She never told me either, but I had enough contact with her during that period to smell it on her.  She eventually quit, but now she’s doing it again.  I also noticed light cut marks on her wrists back then.”

“She was trying to kill herself?”

“... or at least thinking about it,” Autumn nodded.  “I’m really afraid she might try it again.”

“I think love scares her.  Losing him hit her really hard.  Cristy probably doesn’t feel like she could survive live through something like that again.”

“We just need to keep an eye on her but give space.  As much as I don’t like it, Cristy will need to figure this out on her own.”

 

“Father?” Takehiko approached Aizen.

“Yes, Takehiko,” Aizen said with his hand on his chin as he sat upon his throne.

“When may I go back to the human world?” Takehiko said.  “I’d like to test my new skills against the enemy.”

“I’m not sure you are ready for that,” Aizen replied.  “You’ve yet to master your shikai.”

“Yes, I know but I am far stronger than I was before.  Surely that will be enough to crush her and anyone else that gets in my way.”

“Takehiko, understand that Autumn is a trained warrior.  She was created and molded for this very purpose.  She’s been taught by a master shinobi and a master swordsman her entire existence.  You are at a severe disadvantage.”

“Yes, I know,” Takehiko sighed.  “There is another matter.  It’s the twins… they are growing restless.  Our human mother spoiled them quite heavily with shopping and they claim they need certain sundry items.  They are insisting on going back to the human world to shop.  I probably won’t be able to stop them from running off on their own for much longer.”

“Tier,” Aizen called.  

The voluptuous trace espada appeared in front of Aizen, “You called, my lord?”

“Yes, I require you to seek out Szayelaporro, obtain a gigai and you are to take the twins to the human world and acquire items they require.”

“Yes, my lord,” she nodded and disappeared. 

“Thank you, father,” Takehiko said as he turned to walk away.

Takehiko found himself in his quarters in Las Noches, with his sisters awaiting him.  

“So?” Natsuki tilted her head.

“My father is allowing you to go to the human world for some… sigh… shopping.  Tier Harribel will be escorting you.”

“She’s no fun…” Natsuko complained.

“Are you coming, Takie?” Natsuki asked.

“No, Father wished for me to stay here. Oh… and if you run into anyone of interest… you know what to do…”


	10. Violent Deception, Divided Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shopping trip becomes a deadly showdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lapse in new chapters, not sure if anyone is reading this. Please comment if you are reading this =)  
> As of 6/9/116, Heroine is free on Amazon Kindle. Will probably only last a couple days longer, if that. Here is the link. https://www.amazon.com/Heroine-James-ORell-ebook/dp/B00BNUX4HC?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Rangiku examined a hot pink, low cut and short dress that she saw at a merchant while she was shopping in Downtown Karakura.  Every male in the shop’s eyes were glued on the soul reaper in her revealing red sequined mini-dress.  

“How much is this?” she turned to the shop owner.

“I believe the price…” the man stuttered. “..is on the tag..”

“Oh, this?” Rangiku mocked surprise.  “This is the price?  I didn’t think  _ I  _ would pay this much for this…”

“Oh… of, course not, miss...” the shopkeep mumbled.

Movement caught Rangiku’s eye as three females walked past the shop window.  It was two twin girls wearing Karakura High uniforms being led through the streets by a blonde haired, dark skinned, voluptuous woman in a short white dress.

“I’ll be back for this later,” Rangiku grinned at the still flabbergasted shopkeeper.

She flipped open her Denreishinki and dialed it.  After a few moments, Toshiro Hitsugaya's voice emerged from the device.

“Lieutenant?” he said.

“Captain, I believe I’ve just caught sight of Takehiko’s two sisters, accompanied by what I think is an arrancar in a gigai.”

“What could they be up to?”

“I’m not sure, but they did appear like they were shopping.  Each of them held bags from local shops.  These are human girls, after all.  I doubt Hueco Mundo is a very hospitable place for them and it doesn’t surprise me that they would need things from the human world.”

“It couldn’t be that simple.  I want you to follow them.  Stay out of sight and do not engage unless absolutely required.  Those girls may be important to Aizen and I wouldn’t be surprised if that Arrancar is an Espada.”

“I understand, Captain.  I’ll report back in when I know more,” Rangiku sighed as she shut the phone-like device.  “Why can I never shop in peace and quiet…”  Rangiku left the shop and headed in the direction the trio were headed.

 

“You saw her, right?” Natsuki whispered to Natsuko as they tailed Tier.

“Of course,” Natsuko grinned.

“You distract Miss No Fun while I take care of her,” Natsuki smiled.

“What are you two whispering about?” Tier turned to the twins.

“Oh, nothing, just human sister things,” Natsuko let out an innocent smirk.  “Things you hollows would know nothing about.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure…” Tier said in a low voice. “Now is there anything else you two need so that we can go home.  I won’t say I dislike this ‘shopping’ but I do not like being surrounded by so many humans… it makes me uncomfortable.”

“Natsuko needs new shoes, her old ones are getting too small,” Natsuki said.  

“Will you help me try some on, Tier?” Natsuko cocked her head.

“If I must…”

As Tier and Natsuko turned into the shoe store, Natsuki turned around and ran the other direct.

 

“Following us, soul reaper?” Natsuki said as she stepped up to Rangiku.

“Just making sure you aren’t going to cause any trouble,” Rangiku’s eyes narrowed.  Rangiku looked around and saw that she was surrounded by humans.  

“She wouldn’t pick a fight with me here, would she?” Rangiku thought to herself.

“Now, it is time for you to die!” Natsuki lifted her hands and her zanpakuto materialized in her hands.  She brought the blade down at Rangiku as she leapt back, popping her soul candy into her mouth at the same time.

“She’s got a sword!” someone yelled.

“Take cover!” Rangiku said to the soul candy.  The soul candy ran away in her gigia.  

As Rangiku went to unsheathed her sword, Natsuko wildly swung at her.

“Wow, Rukia was right, you are terrible,” Rangiku said as she easily dodged the girl’s attacks.  

“Who is she swinging at?” a human yelled.

“This bad, someone could get hurt,” Rangiku mumbled to herself.

“Yes someone will,” Natsuki said.  “You!” Natsuki lifted her sword to strike but froze in the position. 

“I… can’t move…” she said as she could feel cold steel against her back and a leather encased arm gently wrap around her neck.

Rangiku observed her environment and noticed all the people around her had stopped paying attention and went about their day.

“Now, sweetheart,” Cristy said as she poked one of her guns in the girl’s back while hiding it with her jacket; “this can go one of two ways once I let you move again.  Either you can put away your sword and go back to minding your own business or I can shoot you in the back and then in the head.  Oh, and just know, I’ll know what you are going to do before you do it.”

“I’d take the young lady’s advice,” Tier appeared behind Cristy, dragging Natsuko with her.  “We aren’t here to fight and you were not given permission to do so.”  Tier turned to Rangiku, “You have my personal apologizes, soul reaper, it was not my intention to start trouble today and it was my failing in not keeping a better eye on that child.”

“Oh… It’s okay, I guess…”

“Now be a good girl, and get the fuck out of here,” Cristy removed her gun from Natsuki’s back.  

Natsuki let out a growl and her blade disappeared.  

Tier opened a ganta gate and the three disappeared into it.

“Well, thanks for helping with that.  What a psycho,” Rangiku said.  “So… how did you do that… make everyone stop paying attention.”

“Things like that have been getting easier since I got here.  I’ll see you later,” Cristy turned.

“Wait,” Rangiku put her hand on Cristy’s shoulder.  “Are you okay?  You seem somewhat...off.”   
“I’m fine,” Cristy said.

“And that’s a lie.  You and I are going to have a little talk after I track down my gigai.”

 

“I really don’t like how she’s avoiding us,” Carry grumbled as her and Autumn cuddled on the steps of Autumn’s home.  “I can’t help but feel… rejected…”

“I don’t think it’s us…” Autumn said.  “I’m worried… I want to keep an eye on her but I also want to give her space.  She and Rangiku just had a confrontation with Tweedle Dee, along with Tweedle Dum and who I’m guessing was Tier Harribel.  No one seems like they were hurt.”

“I assume you mean the twins… and I’m guessing this Tier is an arrancar.  Your senses are getting that good?  I get knowing it was an arrancar, but how could you tell which one?”   
“Well, she’s roughly the strength of Captain Hitsugaya, maybe even a bit stronger.  Also, she’s another water element.  In the books, he fights her and wins… sorta.  And she’s rather calm and I’m getting that for sure.  She obviously didn’t come here to fight.”       

“I just feel so helpless… she won’t talk to us…” Carry expelled.

“She’s going to have to deal with this in her own way… we can’t make her talk to us,” Autumn wrapped her arm around Carry.  Carry laid her head on Autumn’s shoulder.

“I’m just… scared… I’m not sure what I would do without her..”

“Same here… as much as I hate saying this, but we have to have faith things will work out.”

“That does sound strange coming out of you,” Carry said.

“Faith is not something I’ve ever had much of.”

 

“So, what’s the deal, short stuff?” Rangiku said as she swirled the straw around a frilly drink in a clear glass. 

“Nothing,” Cristy mumbled as she took a swig of her smoothie through a similar straw.

“You haven’t even glanced at my chest yet, something is wrong,” Rangiku smiled.

“I’m just not in a flirty mood,” Cristy said.

“I have a feeling that doesn’t happen often, now are you going to spill the beans, or what?”

“Are you going to leave me alone if I don’t?”

“Not a chance,” Rangiku rang.

“Fine… I’m… in love…”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“For most people, yes.  For me?  Absolutely not.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I promised myself I would never fall in love again.  It’s just all too painful.”   
“I can relate to that.  But there’s good stuff in it too, right?  I can’t imagine what could have happened to you to make you feel this way.”

“To make a long story short, the person I love killed himself for wronging me.  What he did didn’t bother me at all, but he couldn’t live with himself for doing it.  The reason it’s so painful is because I did the Telosian Mind Meld with him… I think the name says it all, really.  I … couldn’t imagine ever being that close with anyone else again… and I’m not sure I could survive losing someone I’m that close to again either.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, sweetheart, but you can’t let that scare you away.  Who is that you fell in love with, anyway?”

“You promise you won’t tell anyone?” 

Rangiku raised her hand, “Lieutenant's honor.”  

“I don’t know… I’m pretty sure you are the gossipy type....and I’m pretty sure you drink a lot…”   
“Guilty as charged!  But seriously, I won’t tell a soul, you have my solemn word as the Lieutenant of Squad Ten..”

“Okay… it’s Tatsuki…”

“Orihime’s friend?”

“One in the same… I took her to show her Ichigo fighting a hollow, but she couldn’t see it.  So I held her hand and let her use my eyes with my powers.  The feelings I got from her… and just being connected with her like that… just felt…”

“...right?” 

“I guess that’s the word.”

“And is there a reason you aren’t talking to your friends about this?  The three of you seem pretty close.”

“Yeah, but they are the kind of girls that take matters into their own hands.  I’ve known Autumn all my life.  I haven’t known Carry long but I know how she reacts to shit like this.  Hell, she hooked Autumn up with a guy despite her own feelings for her.  No doubt they will try to do the same for me.”

“But shouldn’t you at least see if Tatsuki feels the same?”

“No, no no no.  What if… I lose her… I mean, I took her to Kisuke and he’s probably training her as we speak.  She’s going to be fighting alongside of us, there is a good chance…”

“If you keep worrying about the ‘ifs’, you’ll never be happy.”

“I really don’t deserve ‘happiness’, Rangiku.  I’m guilty of abandoning my cousin when she needed me the most, letting my sister abuse her because she refused to fight back.  No matter what I do, I’m not sure Autumn will ever outlive the trauma of the last three years.”

“She hinted about this when I was up in her room with her.  What did your sister do that was so terrible?”

“Made her school life hell by turning the entire school against her.  People have done horrible things to Autumn and she never fought back, always afraid that Alexandral would cause her to hurt someone.”

“I overheard her say something about that being.  Who is she, exactly?”

“Well… Autumn is part of her… and believe me, I can tell you first hand she’s an overly vicious cunt.”

“But… Autumn… she’s so...sweet…”

“Yeah, let’s just say looks are about all the two of them have in common.  Alexandral can take control of her, I’ve seen it, although we’ve been told that can’t happen while we’re here.”

“That’s a relief… we got sidetracked, though… shouldn’t we be talking about you?”

“I’m not important… Autumn is.”

“Then shouldn’t you be hanging out with her, not me?”

 

Tatsuki put her hands on her knees and breathed heavily as her movement practice session came to a close.  Yoruichi folded her arms and smiled at her student.

“Are you okay?” she said.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Tatsuki replied.

“I think you are ready,” Kisuke said.  

“After only two days?” Tatsuki said.

“I’m rather surprised myself.  There is little else you can learn until you become a soul reaper.  Although, it’s best you rest the night and come back tomorrow.  We’ll do the chain-cutting then.”

“And I’m sure this is also giving me time to back out?” Tatsuki said as she stood up straight and glared at Kisuke.

“Well… that too, if you want to put it that way.  Yet, it is still best for you to be well-rested when you try to cut the chain.  If you feel even the slightest bit off, tell us.  If you fail to cut it, you might not be as ready as I thought.  If you manage to cut it but aren’t strong enough to survive the transformation… well you know what happens.”

 

“I understand, Mr. Urahara,” Tatsuki nodded.  


	11. Nightmare Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cristy sets in motion a plot to keep Autumn and Carry out of her way. Little does she know, she's being watched.

 

The next day, Cristy finally joined Carry and Autumn outside of the school, after classes had ended.  As students filtered around them, Cristy refused to make eye contact with either girl.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered.

“We’ve been worried sick about you,” Autumn ignored the apology and wrapped her arms around her cousin.

“I’m sorry,” she said again, this time louder and choking with tears.  She said nothing else and Carry joined in on the hug.

 

“Oh, Sosuke…” Jalana’s voice rang as the goings on of Los Noches stopped cold.  

“Yes, my love,” Aizen grinned as he approached the goddess.

“I have a gift for you,” she smiled as she lifted her hand toward him.  In her palm, a translucent orb appeared.  “This will give you easy access to spying on the world of the living.  An opportunity may come your way very soon.  I suggest you take it when you see it.”

She handed the orb to him and then dissolved into the background and the scene began to move as normal.  Aizen held the orb up and could see the three girls hugging on the exterior of their school.  He let out a sinister laugh as he slid the orb into his coat.

 

As the girls walked away from the school, Orihime waved her hand as she struggled to catch up.  Autumn, Cristy and Carry stopped to allow her to catch up.

“Hi, guys, I was wondering if you have seen Tatsuki?” Orihime said as she approached.

“Just in class, sweetheart,” Carry nodded.  “Why?  Is something wrong?”   
“No… just she’s been disappearing after class for the last few days.  She’s also not talking to me much.  I hope I didn’t didn’t do anything to upset her.”

“I’m sure everything is okay,” Autumn said.  “We should walk you home, you shouldn’t be by yourself right now.”

Cristy avoided eye contact with Orihime.

“Oh, yeah, I tend to forget that.  Silly me.  It’s just weird to think it’s dangerous in Karakura Town, but with those bad people out there, I guess none of us should be alone on the street.”

The four girls began walking toward Orihime’s house as Orihime continued to chatter.  Autumn smiled at her and conversed while Carry kept her eyes trained on Cristy.  Cristy kept her eyes to the ground, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

After leaving Orihime at her home, Cristy put on a smile and finally looked up.  

“Hey guys, I’m really sorry for being such a bitch,” she said.

“You weren’t a bitch… you just scared us…” Carry replied.

“I feel like I need to make it up to you, though.  Why don’t you guys come over to my place tonight, I’ll order some noms.  No one has to cook shit and we can sit back and watch a movie or something.  I just need to shoo my fake mom out of the house.”

“Under one condition,” Autumn said.

“Yes, I’ll tell you what’s been my issue, I promise,” Cristy said… “Holy shit, did I just read your mind?”

“I guess you did… I figured you just guessed.  Alexandral always stopped you before, right?”

“I think so.”

“Well, I’m an open book now and I’m expecting the same out of you.”

“You have my word,” Cristy let out another smile.  

 

A hollow claw accelerated toward Ichigo, but he struggled to even move. Rukia appeared to the right of the monster and sliced it’s arm off.  She finished off the creature with an attack directly to it’s mask.  

Rukia rolled her eyes as the pair stood in mid-air, “Ichigo… that attack was so slow it might as well been not moving at all, what is up with you?”

“Nothing, I’m fine,” Ichigo said, as he held his forehead with a hand.

“You keep saying that,  Rukia sighed.  “When are you going to tell me what is wrong?”

“Like I said, I’m fine.  Let it go.”

“If you insist…” Rukia once again rolled her eyes.  Rukia took a deep breath, “Ichigo…”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know what you are hiding from me but it’s…”

“It’s what...and I’m not hiding anything.”

“It’s… nothing.  It’s getting in the way of you being a substitute soul reaper.  We need you at full strength with the increased number of hollows we’ve been seeing since Autumn, Cristy and Carry showed up.  It’s obvious Aizen is trying to keep us busy instead of training for the battles ahead, like we should be doing.”

“Are you sure that’s what you were going to say?”

“Of course, I say what I’m going to say, do I make myself clear?” 

“Yeah, I guess.  And you say I’m the one acting weird,” Ichigo sighed as he turned toward home.

 

“You sure you’re ready for this?” Kisuke said as Tatsuki continued to practice with her asauchi.  

“Yeah, I can feel her…” Tatsuki said.  “I can tell she wants to talk to me.  I just want to get good and acclimated with her before I try to cut the chain.”

“Good idea, the more cosey you get with that sword, the more likely this will work.  You’ve been sleeping it with it close to you, right?”

“Yes…” Tatsuki stopped mid-swing.  “Speaking of sleep, Kisuke, since I started this, I’ve been having a strange dream.”

“What sort of dream?” Yoruichi asked.

“I keep seeing Cristy on top of a building and she looks like she is going to jump off it.  I run up the stairs to get to her and I open up the building’s door and I see her about to step off.  I always wake up in sweat at that point.”

“Well, it’s only been three nights, so it could be just a reoccurring dream,” Kisuke said.  “Maybe it’s your mind trying to deal with how Cristy connected herself to you.”

“Maybe…” Yoruichi said.  “But it’s best to keep an open mind.  Dreams can tell us many things and it’s best to always be mindful of them.”

 

Carry and Autumn exited their respective homes at the same time as they prepared to meet with Cristy.  Autumn approached Carry in the middle of the sidewalk on her and Cristy’s side of the road.

“Something’s wrong…” Autumn said.

“Yeah and I thought she was acting weird before,” Carry said.  “I can’t shake the feeling we are walking into some sort of trap… I know that’s probably my Tala’har training going overboard, though.  This is Cristy we are talking about, after all.”

“I don’t know, I’m actually getting the same feeling.  At the very least, she’s up to something.  I can’t imagine what.”

“Let’s go and find out,” Carry took Autumn’s hand and they went up to Cristy’s door.  Cristy opened the door as they approached.

“Now I can’t promise this will be as good as stuff you can make Autumn, but I don’t want you to worry about that.  Tonight, we relax,” Cristy said as Carry and Autumn walked through the door.  They found a table already set for them with delivered food already set out.

“Wow… you went to a lot of trouble, shorty,” Carry said.

“Nah, I love you guys.  And this was easy, just had to call for the stuff to be delivered,” Cristy said.  “And Autumn, I have to say, I’m digging the new outfit.”

“Oh, this,” Autumn said as glanced down at her short shorts and purple halter top, “just one of the many things I used to refuse to wear that my mom bought me.”

Autumn took her right leg and wrapped it around Carry’s back and drew her close with it, “Anyway, this show is for Carry.”

Carry smiled and ran her hand over Autumn’s calf, “You know, these legs of yours drive me absolutely mad…” 

“Now ladies, no ravaging each other before dinner.  There will be plenty of time for that later.  Now come on, the food is getting cold.”

Autumn, Cristy and Carry sat down at the table and began to eat.

“Is it just me, or does this taste… a little… off…” Autumn said sluggishly.

“Yeah, mine sort of tastes weird… too” Carry said as her head slunk to the table.  Autumn’s head quickly followed. 

Cristy stood up and did a quick check on the girl’s vitals.

“I was afraid I might have used too much… and I have no idea how this stuff will affect you, Autumn, and I’m so sorry, but I can’t let you guys stop me.  I love you both more than life itself…”  She took off her leather jacket and wrapped it around Carry’s shoulders, “You’ll need this more than I will from now on…”

Tears were no streaming from Cristy’s eyes as she turned to the door to leave.

 

“Grimmjow… Aaroniero.... Zommari….” Aizen said in a calm voice while seated on his throne at Las Noches.

The three espada appeared in front of Aizen, kneeling on one knee.  “You called, Lord Aizen,” they said in unison.

“Yes, I have a task for the three of you,” Aizen said as they stood.  “Grimmjow, you are to take a low ranking hollow with you and you are to kill Cristy Alexander.  She will be alone tonight, but you must use the hollow to distract her.  Otherwise, you will not survive the encounter.”

“So you want me to kill her while her back is turned?  That’s not style…” Grimmjow snarled.

“You’ll do as commanded, without complaint.  Oh and Grimmjow, I’m aware that you planned on confronting the substitute soul reaper and the Karakura Town forces with your fraction, against my will.  You’re fraction will get their chance tonight as well.  They will be keeping the Karakura Town forces busy while you accomplish your task.  I’ll be watching you very closely during this assignment.”

“Yes, Lord Aizen,” Grimmjow said.  

“Now go,” Aizen said.  

Grimmjow vanished.  

“Now, for you two…” Aizen said.

 

As Cristy quickly left her home, she failed to notice Ichigo and Rukia returning from their hollow hunt, still in their soul reaper forms.  As the short blonde girl accelerated down the sidewalk, Rukia took a hard look at Cristy’s home.

“Ichigo, something is very wrong,” Rukia said.

“Yeah, she’s in a hurry… and you’re right, something really doesn’t free right.”

“Autumn and Carry are in Cristy’s house… and I don’t think they are conscious.”

“I better go…”

“No, Ichigo, I’ll go tend to them.  You better follow Cristy.  Stay out of sight, though.  The moment she sees you, you might forget you were even tailing her.  Lieutenant Matsumoto said she was able to cause all the humans around her and one of the twins to stop paying attention.  She could do the same to you.”

“Yeah, I’ll hang back unless I have to,” Ichigo nodded as he disappeared.

Rukia ran up to Cristy’s house and phased through the door.

“Hello… anyone home?” she called.  No one answered.  Then her eyes caught the two girls with heads down on the table.

She approached them quickly and noted they were still breathing.  She began to shake Autumn and it didn’t take long for her to come to.

“Rukia?” she stared up at Rukia with lucid eyes.  “Where’s Cristy?”

“I don’t know, she ran off down the street.  I sent Ichigo after her.  What happened?”

“Cristy… drugged us… I think…”

“Then how are you awake now?”

“Drugs… have… unpredictable effects… on Telosians… I have to… follow them… they are in… danger… Ichigo’s...powers...”

“You’re in no condition to go anywhere!”

“No choice… we’re… being watched…” Autumn said as she clumsily pushed herself to her feet.  “Stay here… you gotta protect… Carry… Aaroniero… you can… do it…”

“Aaroniero… who’s that?”

“Espada… 9th seat…” Autumn said as she stumbled out of the house’s front door.

 

Aaroniero stood high above the neighborhood as he watched Autumn shamble down the street.

“It seems I’ve been spotted,” he said as turned his attention to Cristy’s home.

 


End file.
